Oblivious
by PervyNinja
Summary: After the war, Naruto is not the only one to be approached by admirers - Hinata is oblivious, Kiba, Shino & Akamaru are protective and Naruto is just so confused. Team 8 love & NaruHina. A/N: keep an eye on the tumblr for news on updates
1. The Name of the Princess

Summary:  
After the war, Naruto is not the only one to be approached by admirers - Hinata is oblivious, Kiba, Shino & Akamaru are protective and Naruto is just so confused. Team 8 love & NaruHina.

About:  
The story follows manga cannon, with inspiration from The Last & a pinch from anime (including Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden).  
Every chapter represents "Oblivious"-canon, meaning Bonus- and Thank You-chapters are also part of the canon timeline in the story. (Yes, even _Naruto-nii's Weakness_ \- which might be a fun thing to remember when reading _The Hero's Discovery_ btw)

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Author's Note: Oblivious has a tumblr account, by the name 'oblivious-ninjas'. Please feel free to check it out for headcanons, to ask me questions and for long stretches of silence.

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...

The Name of the Princess

...

After the war, the name Uzumaki Naruto had become well known throughout the shinobi nations. Only very few people could honestly say they had not heard of the great hero of the war and they would quickly be lectured on the facts about the man behind the name.

While many of Naruto's friends had also become well known in the shinobi community, none had become as famous or admired as the hero himself, though one person in particular, came very close. That person was Hyuuga Hinata, the Princess of the Hyuuga clan.

It was well known that the Hyuuga family had played a large part in the protection of the hero during the war, but the Princess had gained much greater recognition than the rest of her family.

Upon returning to the villages after the war, many had brought with them tales of her incredible strength and grace on the battlefield, even more had tales of her kindness towards her comrades, friends and strangers alike, and there were those who could tell of her tender care in the healing tents. One thing all the tales had in common was the extent of her ethereal beauty, and it was this knowledge in particular, which made Hinata's name so well known, especially amongst men.

"A woman like her would make a great wife," a man told his friends, "that gentle spirit would know how to take care of her man and treat him as a king!"  
"Her kindness and warmth, would soothe a man's aching heart and bones after a day of hard work" one of his friends joined in, the others nodding in agreement.  
The first man continued, with a lewd smile, "And those curves! She would surely leave a man thoroughly satisfied every night-"

This was where the conversation ended as the man had received a fist to his stomach, a strong punch which had thrown him several meters through the air. A shaggy looking young man with red markings on his cheeks and an enormous growling dog by his side looked at the man with wild eyes.

"You'd better watch your mouth when you speak of her," Kiba growled, eyes flashing "Or I'll make sure you'll never be able to disrespect another woman for the rest of your life"

Occurrences like these happened another 4 times, men talking amongst themselves about the wondrous body of the Hyuuga Princess only to end up in the hospital, before it became common knowledge that one should be careful when speaking of the woman in public.

Speaking _of_ the woman and speaking _to_ the woman, were two completely different matters though and while one matter had been handled by the dog nin, the other was a bit more difficult to deal with.

Now, the men of team 8 had no doubt that Hinata was a strong shinobi and an even stronger woman, whom they would happily trust with their lives, had done on several occasions, and they knew she was more than capable of protecting herself if she was in danger.

The problem was that Hinata was also very kind hearted, always believing the best of others, and worse, she was still very innocent and oblivious, especially when it came to her own looks and the effect she had on the opposite sex. This meant that Hinata was often oblivious of men's intentions towards her, naively taking their flirtatious behaviour for common friendliness.

The first time Kiba and Shino had witnessed Hinata being heavily flirted with by a stranger, the boys had agreed to wait for the girl to reject the man on her own. After 10 minutes of waiting, the boys could no longer hold back and moved forwards as one. Kiba rushed towards Hinata, making sure to 'accidently' crash into the man, hard enough to make him fall down, while Shino instructed a couple of wasps to stay ready in the spot where the man would land.

This had earned them both a slap to the arm and a stern look from the dark haired girl. Apparently Hinata did not appreciate her teammates performing random acts of violence towards 'perfectly innocent' strangers.

After that, Shino and Kiba had spent many days and hours trying to figure out the best way to get men away from their precious team member, until they had finally found the one method that worked perfectly, without the use of violence. At first Hinata had been confused by her teammates' actions, but soon she came to accept it as just another of their silly games and since they weren't hurting anyone, she saw no reason to make them stop.

...


	2. The Protective Pups

...

The Protective Pups

...

Hinata was lost in her own mind as she looked at the different flowers in front of her, trying to decide which would look better in her father's office at this time of year. Though her father never asked for his office to be decorated with flowers, Hinata had found that whenever she left a filled vase in the room, for him to discover the next time he entered, his lips would curve and he would turn his attention to the image of her mother on the wall.  
Smiles had often been rare in her upbringing, so for her, even the barest hint of a smile was like the sun peeking through the greyest of clouds.

"Excuse me," a man's voice broke through her thoughts and made her look up, "Hey" he said.

"Oh, h-hello" Hinata answered politely, "can I help you?"

"I just noticed you were standing here all alone and I just wanted to talk to you," the man smiled, moving close to her.

"O-oh, well, there's really no need," Hinata answered with a polite smile, though the man's words made her slightly uncomfortable and his smile made her want to put a little more distance between them.

"A pretty girl like you shouldn't be all alone, so won't you join me for coffee?" the man asked.

Hinata's eyes widened slightly, "n-no thank you," she said. The man was clearly very friendly but still she did not feel the need to make any new friends today.

"No? Why not?" the man asked, still standing a little too close for comfort.

Hinata fidgeted with her fingers nervously, "I-I well.. I'm not r-really.. I mean, thank you for your offer but I-I don't really-"

"She's got a boyfriend," a rough voice spoke up as she was hugged from behind, the smell of dog surrounding her, well known and comforting after so many years "right babe?"

"Kiba-kun" Hinata turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, feeling a touch of relief.

When the man only stared at the pair in front of him, Kiba sent a glare his way, "Back off dude and I won't set my dog on you"

Akamaru appeared in front of Hinata, growling at the stranger who paled fast at the sight of the dog and apologized before rushing off down the street.

"Thank you Kiba-kun" Hinata said, gently touching her hand to one of his arms still around her waist. Her other hand reached out to scratch the great white dog's head, "and thank you Akamaru-kun,"

"No prob. Hina," Kiba said, as he and Akamaru stayed in their positions protectively until the man could no longer be seen, "Getting flowers?"

"Hai," Hinata smiled as she finally found the right flowers and payed for them.

Kiba took the flowers for her in one hand and hooked his other arm in hers, "Hinata you know, you really need to pay more attention"

"What do you mean?" she asked him as they walked towards the Hyuuga compound.

"These guys don't want to be friends with you, they want to get to _know_ you" Kiba tried to explain.

"That _is_ how you make friends Kiba-kun"

"No, I mean they want to get to _know_ know you" he stressed.

Hinata only blinked at him, "?"

"For the love of- they want to get to know what's in your pants!" Kiba erupted, face tinting slightly.

Hinata looked at him, appalled and wide eyed, "Kiba-kun! That's an awfully rude accusation to make, especially of people you don't know!"

"But Hinataaaa, it's not an accusation, it's the truth!" Kiba whined and Akamaru barked in agreement.

"You don't know that, Kiba-kun" Hinata said, frowning slightly at them.

Kiba and Akamaru shared a look, the facts were clear to them but it was also clear that they, once again, would be fighting a losing battle by trying to convince her today.

"Fiiiinee" Kiba relented, "Just be careful and don't take your pants off for anyone"

"KIBA-KUN" Hinata exclaimed, face heating up, as Kiba laughed.

Well, sometimes Hinata's innocence was a good thing, at least it made her easy to tease, Kiba thought happily.

...


	3. The Worry Bug

...

The Worry Bug

...

The streets were buzzing with the sounds of people chatting and laughing as Hinata made her way around the different stalls and shops. Shino and she had joined forces in the quest of finding the perfect birthday present for their 3rd team member and they had agreed it would be quicker if they started from different ends of the street and joined up in the middle to discuss their findings.

As Hinata left another stall, full of knick-knacks, she found herself making eye contact with a man across the street. The man smiled and walked closer, "Excuse me Miss, may I ask you a question?" he said once he stood in front of her.

"H-huh? Oh, s-sure" Hinata answered kindly.

The man continued to smile and took one of her hands, "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

Hinata frowned at her hand in his, unsure of the meaning behind this action, but blinked surprised up at him at his question. It was an odd thing to ask a perfect stranger, she thought, but she was a shinobi and a shinobi always helped those in need. If her answer to his odd question could be of any help to this man, then she would do her best to answer truthfully without judgement.

"L-love at first sight? W-well, I suppose it is possible, but I believe it is a rare thing which only very few will truly experience or understand" she explained gently.

The man's smile widened and he began to move slightly closer, "Indeed? Then maybe this could be my lucky day?" he said.

Just as Hinata was about to ask what the man meant, her hand was released from the strangers' and her fingers were entwined with those of a much more well-known hand. The hand was warm and soft, despite the randomly littered pattern of tiny round scars, and most of all the hand was comforting .

"You should leave Hinata alone," a low and monotonous voice spoke from her left, "Why? Because she is in a relationship with me"

The skin of Shino's hand vibrated almost unnoticeably against her hand, a feeling she had come to recognise as a sign of the bugs, which dwelled inside the man, responding to his unease. Hinata let the bugs feel her chakra, in hopes that they would be calmed and in turn help whatever unease Shino was struggling with.

"Shino-kun, have you finished already?" Hinata asked gently. When Shino gave a curt nod in response, she smiled warmly.

The man in front of them frowned before he inclined his head slightly, "My apologies. You are a very lucky man," he told Shino before walking away.

Now that the most recent threat towards Hinata's innocence had been dealt with, the worries in his mind had been soothed and the bugs in his body, which had begun to calm the moment they had felt Hinata close, were now completely at ease.

"Hinata, you should be more careful" Shino said as he led her down the street, hands still clasped together.

"What do you mean Shino-kun?" Hinata asked as she began seaching the stalls of the street again.

"Because, that man was another would-be suitor" Shino said matter-of-factly.

"E-eh? No, no Shino-kun, he only wished for my opinion on a matter" Hinata assured her friend.

"Which matter?" the bug-user inquired.

"Love at first sight" Hinata answered.

Shino stayed silent for a moment before he began leading her in a different direction.

"Shino-kun, where are we going?" the pale eyed girl asked curiously.

"We are getting you a book on the commonly used wooing procedures" her friend stated. (Shino to English translation = a book on pick-up lines)

"What? Why?" Hinata asked, a soft blush appearing on her cheeks, what was she supposed to do with such a book?

"Research," Shino answered seriously.

"But what about Kiba-kun's present?" Hinata motioned at the shops behind them, "We still haven't picked anything out for him"

"It can wait," Shino told her. There was no doubt in his mind that Kiba wouldn't mind if his present was delayed when the reason for it was the protection of their beloved friend's innocence. In fact, Shino thought, to keep Hinata's innocence intact would surely be much preferred to any other present Kiba or himself could ever receive.

...

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Author's note: Thank you for reading, I hope you are enjoying the story so far.  
The story was supposed to be a tiny oneshot but I kept adding to it and now it's already twice as large as originally intented, with more to come.


	4. The Double Defence

Author's note: Thank you everyone for the comments, thank you everyone for the faves and thank you to all the followers!

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...

The Double Defence

...

Hinata looked up and down the street, eyes searching for her friends, as her body hummed with eagerness. Today team 8 were going to be visiting their team leader Kurenai and her daughter Mirai. Only a few days prior, the girl had had her 2nd birthday and much to team 8's disappointment they had been unable to join the celebration as they had been away on a mission. Now back from the mission, the 4 members had all been eagerly looking forward to seeing their 'adopted' little sister and to give her the present they had worked so hard to pick out together.

Hinata smiled as she pictured how the little girl's face would shine with excitement when she saw her present. As she sighed happily to herself, her eyes were caught by a pair of sparkling blue eyes down the street. Naruto and his team were seated at a table outside of Ichiraku ramen and the blond had just caught her daydreaming.

Blushing, Hinata quickly turned away and almost crashed into a man, who caught her easily. Hinata's blush deepened with embarrassment and she quickly apologized with a respectful bow.

"No harm done," the stranger smiled "Having such a beautiful woman fall into my arms is no cause for complaint"

"I-oh, um, t-thank you" Hinata said, eyes a little wide and cheeks still flaming as she tried to put some distance between herself and the man.

"You really are beautiful," he said, smile widening as he held onto her waist, "gorgeous"

"T-that's very kind of you, t-thank you," Hinata said, wondering how to get this man to release her without seeming rude, he was just trying to help her after all. "U-um I think I can stand for myself now, thank you,"

"I'd be happy to help you a little while longer though" the man said and tugged at her waist.

The same moment she began to move back more firmly, she was pulled at by someone from behind her. The extra force made her stumble slightly, but she was quickly steadied by two arms wrapping around her lower back. Her teammates Shino and Kiba had appeared at her sides, each with one arm securely around her.

"Oi, leave the lady alone" Kiba sneered from her right, "She's not interested"

"Why you ask?" Shino spoke up from her other side, "Because we are in a relationship"

The man stared at them for another moment until he spotted the great white dog which stalked past him to sit in front of Hinata, head leaning into her stomach. The dog and the two friends stayed silent, still wrapped around her protectively, as they watched the man walk away.

When the man had finally gone out of earshot, Kiba broke the silence "Dude!"

"What?" Shino asked calmly, turning his head to look at the other over Hinata's hair.

"You're making it sound weird!" Kiba accused, waving his free arm aggressively at Shino.

"How? I simply spoke the truth. Why?" Shino calmly spoke, unfazed by Kiba's behaviour "Because I did not say the relationship was based on romance, therefore it is not-"

"Yeah, but dude, saying it like that still makes it sound like you're implying we're in a three-way romance!" Kiba exclaimed and continued in a whine, "It's awkward"

Hinata, still sandwiched between them, giggled softly as she listened to them banter back and forth.

Akamaru gave a bark which made his owner turn to him, quickly releasing Hinata so he could wave threateningly at his dog, "Don't you go making it any weirder! No way are you included in the romance! Canine-friend is enough for you!"

The dog jumped playfully and barked at his owner again, before quickly running away when the dog-nin chased after him with an angry "What did you say?!"

Hinata's giggle turned into a laugh as she and Shino watched the chase. A few minutes later Kiba appeared beside them again, Akamaru right behind him, and they all began walking.

"Seriously though, Shino, what if people started spreading rumours about Hinata sexing it up with her two best friends?"

"Kiba-kun, please don't be so crude!" Hinata stressed quietly, eyes wide and face burning with embarrassment again.

"Sorry" he grinned, pushing his shoulder into hers teasingly, when a girl called out to them from the left.

"Hey guys!" Sakura smiled and waved them over to where she, Sai and Naruto sat at the ramen stand.

The pale-eyed girl had momentarily forgotten about how she had embarrassed herself in front of Naruto only 10 minutes earlier, but now that she was close to him, the memory was clear in her mind again. A blink of an eye later and the reality of what Kiba had been saying moments before, within hearing range of Naruto, hit her hard like a brick wall.

Oh goodness! What if Naruto had heard? What wouldn't he think of her? The embarrassment she had felt earlier was nothing compared to how she felt now and Hinata absentmindedly wondered how much longer she would be able to blush before she would pass out.

As she and her team greeted their friends, a little awkwardly on her part, they noticed that Naruto appeared to be unconscious, face flat down on the table. Hinata felt concern wash over her at the sight, but she couldn't help the slight relief she felt when she realised that Kiba's words wouldn't have reached Naruto if he was unconscious.

"What happened to the idiot?" Kiba asked as Akamaru went to sniff the blond curiously.

"I think his brain shut down due to an unusual amount of usage" Sai smiled, while Kiba laughed.

"Naruto-kun" Hinata said softly, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Naruto-kun?"

Naruto lifted his head from the table and blinked a few times, before he noticed the girl in front of him.  
"Hin-Hinata, h-hey, what's up?" his smile was slightly awkward and his face was turning redder by the second.

The dark-haired girl frowned and wondered if he had caught a fever, "Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" she asked carefully.

"He's fine Hinata, don't worry about him," Sakura assured her with a grin, "Anyway where're you guys off to?"

"We're going to visit Kurenai-sensei" Kiba said and Hinata continued with a smile, "Mirai-chan turned 2 while we were out of town, so we're bringing her our present,"

"Oh how cute" Sakura said and Kiba excitedly started to tell her and Sai about the 'super awesome' present they had got.

While they talked, Hinata peeked back over at Naruto and noticed that he was staring at her. She gave him a shy smile, which he returned before he quickly looked away, face still red.

She was aware that the voices of her friends had turned quieter, but she paid it no mind as she studied Naruto's profile, trying to come up with something to say to him.

Just as she was about to open her mouth, Kiba's loud and barking laugh rang through the air, making both her and Naruto turn towards the dog-nin.

Kiba grinned widely as he stepped close to Hinata and slung his arm around her waist again. "Come on babe, we don't wanna be late to see Kurenai-sensei"

She blushed slightly at being called such a name in front of Naruto, but nodded in agreement "H-hai"

"See you later" Sakura smiled and Shino gave them all a curt nod.

"Goodbye" Hinata smiled and looked at Naruto who, for some reason, seemed to be even redder than before "Bye Naruto-kun, I hope you feel better soon"

Naruto blinked, some of the colour fading from his cheeks as he murmured a quiet "Yeah b-bye"

The colour on the blond's face returned full force again, unnoticed by the pale girl, when Kiba began tugging Hinata away by her waist with another "Let's go babe". Shino appeared at her other side, grasping her hand in his, while Kiba looked back at their friends, "later" he called out and chuckled close to her ear.

Hinata felt like she might be missing something, but then Kiba began talking about the cake he and Shino had bought on the way to meet up with her and all her thoughts turned to the little girl waiting for them to come celebrate with her.

...

Next up: The Oblivious Hero


	5. The Oblivious Hero

Author's note: Thank you everyone for being so patient with me! I think this chapter got a little messy, but I hope you'll all enjoy it anyway!

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The Oblivious Hero

...

"Oi, Ojii-san!" Naruto called out happily as he entered Ichiraku Ramen and spotted Teuchi, "One miso ramen with chāshū and extra naruto please".

The older man smiled warmly "Coming up Naruto" he called back and watched as the blond sat down at one of the tables outside while his friends walked in to give their orders.

"Naruto, you could have waited for us, you know" Sakura commented and gave his head a smack, "It's common courtesy"

"Itt- sorry Sakura-chan" Naruto rubbed at his head, "I'm just hungry"

Sakura rolled her eyes at him as she and Sai joined him at the table. "I did not realise hunger and good manners cancelled each other out" Sai commented with a smile as he pulled out a book.

"They don't" Sakura said while Naruto scowled at them both.

...

Naruto had only just finished slurping down the last of the broth when his eyes were caught by a woman walking up the street. Though she was still too far away for him to see her face clearly, he instantly recognised Hinata.

He didn't really know when it had happened, or _what_ had happened exactly, but one day Naruto realised that whenever Hinata was anywhere near him, his eyes would be drawn towards her before he even had time to register it. Without realising it, he had become able to pick Hinata out in any crowd, no matter where or when, and maybe that was a little strange, since he couldn't say the same about Sakura or any of his other friends.

He watched as Hinata came to a stop and began looking around her. She was finally close enough for him to make out every detail on her face and when she turned her head in his direction, he could see the happiness which danced in her pale eyes and the soft smile upon her lips. He imagined how it would feel to be the one receiving such a smile and, for some reason, that made Naruto's heart beat a little faster.

The blond was suddenly pulled back into reality when he realised that the woman he'd been staring at was looking straight back at him. He started to smile at her but when she quickly turned away, it suddenly hit him: Hinata hadn't just been looking back at him; she had just caught him staring at her!

"Oi, Naruto, what's wrong with you?" Sakura's voice reached him, "What made you so quiet all of a sudden?"

"H-huh? N-nothing!" Naruto muttered quickly, feeling slightly guilty and embarrassed.

"I believe it was because he was staring at Hinata-san" Sai said matter-of-factly.

"Eeh, is that so?" a small smirk appeared on Sakura's lips as she turned around to look for the pale-eyed girl.

"I wasn't staring!" Naruto said, colour rising on his cheeks.

"Hmm, well someone else certainly is" Sakura said when she spotted the girl, frowning slightly at the man she was with, "Hinata sure has been getting popular lately, huh?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, frowning as well.

The pink-haired girl raised a brow at him, "Even you couldn't possibly have missed all the attention Hinata has gotten lately"

Naruto didn't answer. No, of course he hadn't missed it, how could he?

He rarely ever saw Hinata walking around town by herself anymore. Either he'd see her walking close to Kiba or Shino or he would find her talking to some guy who Naruto didn't know. And no matter who she was with, he would _always_ notice the guys in the crowd who'd be staring at her, with that same look in their eyes as ero-sennin used to get when he was being especially pervy.

Naruto didn't like it. Because Hinata was one of his special people and he just wanted to protect her from bad things, the same as with all his other friends.. right?

Anyway it wasn't like he'd been watching her of course, he'd just been noticing her around and.. yeah, okay, maybe he had been watching her, just a little bit, but he really hadn't at first! At first it had been completely by coincidence, what with his eyes drawing to her without his consent and all. And it _really_ wasn't his fault that his eyes just took on a mind of their own and stayed locked on to her whenever they found her. It just happened!

Naruto looked up the street for a moment, catching sight of Hinata again and when he saw how she had been wrapped in the arms of Shino and Kiba, he quickly looked away again.

He felt like something was prickling under his skin and though he'd felt it before, he still didn't really understand what it meant.

".. **we're in a three-way romance**!" Kiba's voice reached his ear a moment later and as his eyes widened slightly, he felt the prickling turn into something more like a scratching.

Naruto swallowed as thoughts, which made him slightly uncomfortable, filled his head. After a while he looked towards Sakura, "Hey Sakura-chan" he said quietly "do you know.. is.. Hinata w-with someone?"

Sakura tilted her head at his question and looked at him curiously "huuh, with someone? What do you mean?"

"L-like is she someone's g-girlfriend?" Naruto could feel his cheeks heating as he avoided the girl's eyes.

"Someone's girlfriend?" Sakura asked surprised, "Why do you ask that?"

Crap, what should he say to that?! "Eh-hehe, no reason" Naruto said, "just curious y'know, cause like, she's really close to Shino and Kiba and they're always together so I was just wondering and stuff". Was he rambling? He was pretty sure he was rambling.

Sakura deadpanned, "Are you trying to say you think Hinata is in a relationship with those guys?"

"Oh, that would make sense" Sai joined in from the side, "They do seem very close and affectionate with each other, do they not? That is very common for people in romantic relationships, at least so I've read"

Sakura frowned at the artist, she knew he still had some difficulties with the whole emotional spectrum, but she also knew that even _he_ was aware of Hinata's true feelings, so why would he be saying something like that? She was about to open her mouth when she noticed the almost teasing glint in his eyes. _Oh_ she thought as Sai continued to tease the increasingly red faced blond.

After a while of teasing, Sakura rolled her eyes, was Naruto really so oblivious that he hadn't caught on yet? When she looked over at the blond and saw him frowning deeply, looking like he was actually considering the possibility of Sai's words, she sadly had to conclude that: yes, he was actually that oblivious.

"Sai, enough already" she said as the man was about to open his mouth again, "and Naruto, don't be stupid, of course Hinata and her team aren't together like that - how could you even think that about Hinata?"

Naruto stared blankly at her for a moment, before shaking his head to clear his mind, "Hehe I guess you're right Sakura-chan" he said after awhile.

...

".. **Hinata sexing it up with her two best friends**?"

He couldn't help the rush of thoughts and images that flew through his mind, when Kiba's voice reached him again, he really couldn't. It didn't matter what he believed or knew, right now, those words were just too much for his already confused mind and before he knew it, his mind went blank and his face met the table with a quiet 'thunk'.

Sakura sighed, before she called out to their friends with a smile and waved them over to their table.

"What happened to the idiot?" Kiba asked, as the nin-dog sniffed at Naruto curiously.

"I think his brain shut down due to an unusual amount of usage" Sai said with a smile and Kiba began to laugh.

Naruto was still lying with his face against the table when a soft voice spoke his name and a gentle hand touched his shoulder.

"Naruto-kun?" the voice spoke again and Naruto lifted his head, blinking a few times before he noticed Hinata standing right in front of him with a small frown on her face.

"Hin-Hinata, h-hey, what's up?" he smiled, a little awkwardly, and felt his face heating up. She had caught him staring not 10 minutes ago and now, just after he'd been thinking such awful things about her, she was standing there with that worried expression aimed at him and he couldn't even speak clearly. Why did he have to be so awkward today?

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" she asked carefully.

"He's fine Hinata, don't worry about him," Sakura assured the other girl with a grin, "Anyway where're you guys off to?"

As his friends began talking, Naruto's eyes stayed focused on Hinata. What was really going on? Why did the thought that she was in a relationship with Kiba and Shino really bother him that much? Was it because he thought they could be taking advantage of her or.. was it something else? And anyway, if they weren't really together like that, why did they all keep touching each other like that? Wasn't that weird?

Hinata caught his eye again and smiled shyly. He tried to smile back but when he felt his face warm up again he quickly looked away. Why was he feeling like this?

While Naruto's brain continued trying to piece everything together, Sakura was quietly letting Kiba and Shino in on the conversation her team'd been having before their arrival. When the girl finished her tale, Kiba could no longer hold back the loud and barking laugh he'd been keeping in.

The laugh made both Naruto and Hinata turn towards the dog-nin, who grinned widely as he moved close to Hinata and wrapped his arm around her waist, "Come on babe, we don't wanna be late to see Kurenai-sensei"

Naruto felt his face heat up again and the scratching came back as he glared at the man, who looked straight back at him.

"Goodbye" he heard Hinata's gentle voice say before she turned to him and smiled "Bye Naruto-kun, I hope you feel better soon"

Naruto blinked, some of the colour fading from his cheeks as he murmured a quiet "Yeah b-bye"

The colour instantly returned to his face when Kiba began tugging at Hinata's waist with a smirk and a "Let's go babe"

As the group began walking away, Kiba looked back over Hinata's shoulder and caught Naruto's eyes, "Later" he called with a wolfish grin and winked at the blond.

Naruto glared at Kiba's back and growled out a "Stupid mutt".

"Geez, how can you be so dense" Sakura sighed, shaking her head at him.

Naruto pouted, well, maybe he was dense _or_ maybe Kiba was just a giant douchebag.

Yeah, no, actually he was pretty sure that was it; Kiba was just a giant douchebag.

...

Next up:  
Bonus chapter: Naruto-nii's weakness

* * *

Author's note: Thank you for all your support, I hope you'll look forward to the next chapter which will be a bonus chapter of pure sillyness~


	6. Bonus: Naruto-nii's Weakness

Author's note: As promised here is a chapter of pure sillyness - I hope you enjoy!

* * *

...

Bonus: Naruto-nii's weakness

...

Konohamaru had been sneaking around in the shadows, creeping with his back against the walls and hiding amongst the leaves in the trees as he followed Naruto around the village. He was gathering information, everything the older boy did and said was noted down and pocketed for later analysis.

His teammates, Udon and Moegi, had said he was going to too much trouble to spy on their boss, that they already knew everything there was to know about Naruto-niichan and spying was becoming pointless. Konohamaru thought differently and told them: "Naruto-nii is my rival for the title of Hokage, so I can't give up until I find Naruto-niichan's weakness -kore!"

Truthfully he had felt like Udon and Moegi only a few weeks ago, but that was only until the boy had overhead some of the older kids talking about Naruto. He'd heard something about Naruto-nii being even denser than usual, how he got distracted all the time and how he randomly began glaring at people.

This must be what he'd been waiting for, Konohamaru had thought, the perfect chance to finally learn what the older boy's ultimate weakness was! And with that, the super-special-spying had begun.

...

When he had finished with the day's spying, Konohamaru returned to his room and gathered all the notes he'd written over the past week. He first looked through all the notes before he began to sort them all into 2 neat little piles.

One pile was for the no good notes like: 'miso ramen _again_?', '20 minutes on the toilet - is he sick?' and 'day 4 dattebayo-count: IIIII IIIII III'.

A second pile was for the good notes like: 'he's staring at her _again'_ , 'Naruto-niichan looks super scary!', 'Is he following her?' and 'Is niichan gonna kill Kiba-nii?!'.

Konohamaru looked through his notes again and nodded with a satisfied smile. It was clear, all the information he'd gathered fit together perfectly and it all pointed towards the same thing.

"Naruto-nii, I'm coming for you and this time I won't lose cause I know your weakness-kore!"

...

The next morning Konohamaru had seated himself in a tree, outside of Naruto's apartment building, as he waited for the blond to appear. He had been practicing his new jutsu all night and he was eager to use it on the older boy.

After waiting for an hour, Naruto finally came out of the building and as he came near the tree where Konohamaru was hiding, the younger boy jumped down in front of him with a wide grin on his face, "Naruto-niichan!"

"Ah- Konohamaru!" Naruto smiled back happily, "What's up? Want to come with me to Ichiraku Ramen?"

"Not today Naruto-niichan! I have come to fight you!" Konohamaru said seriously, "I have finally discovered your weakness and I now have the perfect jutsu to defeat you-kore!"

"Haha is that so? Alright then, show me!" the blond laughed, eager to see what the kid had in store for him, while wondering what kind of weakness he'd found.

"Right! Naruto-nii please watch me!" Konohamaru said as he got in to position.

Naruto gave him a nice-guy pose, "Do your best Konohamaru!" he encouraged.

"Oiroke no jutsu - curvaceous princess style!" the brown haired boy called out and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Eh?" Naruto tilted his head confusedly at the name and squinted as he tried to peer through the smoke.

When the smoke from the henge cleared, Naruto made a sudden move like he'd been struck and his eyes widened comically.

In front of him stood an almost perfect copy of Hinata, looking as beautiful as the real one. The only difference was that the one in front of him was wearing something the real Hinata would never wear: a very revealing swimsuit, which hardly covered anything.

"N-Naruto-kun~" she said, blinking her large pale eyes up at him as her hand touched her chin in a shy gesture.

"E-eh?" Naruto's eyes were wider than ever, as he stared at the girl in front of him, and a slow trickle of blood began to run from his right nostril.

 _YES! I finally got him!_ Konohamaru thought happily, _alright it's time for the knock out!_

Hinata bent slightly forwards, accentuating her curves to show off the perfect bon-kyu-bon balance, which Naruto always said the younger boy's jutsu lacked.

"Naruto-kun~ Won't you play with me?-kore"

Naruto, who'd been frozen in place, blood slowly running down past his lips, suddenly snapped out of his paralyzes.

An angry yell of "KONOHAMARUUUU!" was the only warning the kid got before Naruto's fist connected with his cheek, sending him crashing to the ground, jutsu dispelled.

Konohamaru, now back to normal, looked up at the blond with wide eyes. Naruto's eyes flashed red as he stared back at him, "Konohamaru, you can _never_ use that jutsu again-ttebayo, you hear me?!" he growled before he rushed off, hand covering his nose.

The younger boy stayed on the ground, wide eyes still glued to where Naruto had been a moment earlier.

"Naruto-niichan, your weakness makes you super scary -kore!" he murmured to the air, "Using your weakness to make you stronger, you really are awesome -kore!"

...

Next up:  
Bonus chapter: Training gone wrong


	7. Bonus: Training Gone Wrong

Author's note: this chapter was supposed to be a short silly bonus chapter but ended up as the second longest chapter of the story.. whoops and please enjoy?

Background info - Team 8 headcanon: at some point Shino tried to learn how to cook but the first handful of tries ended with odd blobs of mystery not suited for human consumption, which disappointed him greatly, but then Akamaru began happily eating the goo and that made Shino discover a passion for making dog food/treats for Akamaru and the other Inuzuka pups. Also Shino and Akamaru are BFBFs - Best Furry Bug Friends.

* * *

...

Bonus: Training gone wrong

...

"Where's Shino?" Kiba asked as he, Akamaru and Hinata walked towards their usual training field.

"He said he was going to be gathering nectar with his father, but he would meet us there" Hinata told him.

"When did he say that?" Kiba asked with a frown.

"He came by to tell me this morning"

"He didn't come by my house" Kiba's frown deepened.

"I think he expected you to be asleep and didn't wish to wake you up Kiba-kun" she explained.

"What? How can he just expect that?! He was probably just being rude!" the dog nin exclaimed.

"It was ten minutes to 7" Hinata said.

Kiba responded with a "pfft" which made the girl look up at him with a teasing smile, "When did you wake up Kiba-kun?"

Kiba stayed quiet for a long moment, but the other continued looking at him, waiting for his answer "Half an hour ago" he muttered with a pout while Hinata giggled.

...

They had only just reached the training field when Shino arrived, carrying a box filled with vials. "I'm sorry, it took longer than anticipated," he said "I still need to bring this to the house before training. I will return shortly"

"It's fine Shino-kun, we'll wait for you" Hinata smiled at him.

Akamaru barked happily and bounded towards the bug user, tail wagging behind him.

"Oi where do you think you're going?" Kiba yelled after his dog, who barked in return. "Yeah I can see you're following Shino, I'm asking you why!"

Akamaru barked again and wagged his tail faster, making Kiba scowl at him, "Shino bites? Did you forget you ate everything last time?!" he said, which made the great dog whine.

"It is fine Kiba, why? Because I made a new batch last night" Shino said in his ever calm voice.

"Of course you did" Kiba muttered, rolling his eyes.

"We will return soon" the bug user said as he and Akamaru started on the walk to the Aburame compound.

"Oi Shino! You better not feed him too much of that stuff! Last time he could barely walk home and he needs to train with us" Kiba yelled after them.

Akamaru whined back at his owner again and received a gentle pat on the head, "Do not worry Akamaru, we can bring treats for when we have finished training" Shino assured him.

When the two had left, Hinata began training with a wooden dummy while Kiba settled down to rest against a tree with his eyes closed.

It didn't take long though before his rest was disturbed by the smell of something nasty. _Cologne._ And lots of it.

Opening his eyes, he instantly spotted the two men drawing nearer to Hinata. "Those are some fine moves you got there" one of them told her, while they both openly stared at her body.

"O-oh um, t-thank you" Hinata said awkwardly, stopping her movements as she looked towards them.

Kiba was in front of them in an instant, blocking their path towards his teammate, "Those are some fine eyes you got there" he said with a dangerous smirk, "how 'bout you take them somewhere else before I rip them out of your fucking skull?"

...

After he had chased the men away, Kiba crossed his arms and looked at the pale-eyed girl, "Okay Hinata, we need to start a different kind of training"

"Hm? What kind of training?" she asked curiously.

"You seriously need to learn how to spot when guys are ogling and hitting on you!" the dog nin said, "so prepare yourself for the master to teach you all about flirting!"

"E-eh?" Hinata said as the curiosity on her face turned to confusion, "B-but who's the master?"

"It's me of course!" Kiba barked outraged and definitely _not_ pouting.

...

Hinata watched as Kiba strutted past her on the training field before he did a double take and moved closer to her, "Excuse me miss, do you believe in love at first sight or should I walk by again?" he asked in his most flirtatious voice.

Hinata bit her lip, trying to hold back the giggle that was bubbling inside her, but she couldn't hold it in. A snort escaped her and she quickly covered her mouth.

Kiba scowled at her "You're not supposed to laugh Hinata, this is serious"

"I'm sorry Kiba-kun" she said as her giggles subsided, "please let me try again"

"I'll do another one, give me a moment" the dog-nin said and walked around her a couple of times before he stepped up to her again.

"Did it hurt?" Kiba asked seriously.

"Hurt?" she asked surprised, was he still trying to teach her or had she missed something?

"When you fell from heaven" the dog-nin said with a wolfish smirk, showing off his teeth.

Hinata frowned, "I don't- I didn't fall Kiba-kun" she assured him.

Kiba deadpanned, "Geez Hinata, it's a pick-up line! Didn't you read the book Shino got you?"

"W-well, some of it, b-but I really don't understand much of it. It doesn't make any sense," the dark-haired girl explained to him, "I mean, like this, why would someone ask me if it hurt when I fell? If they'd witnessed me falling from the sky, surely they wouldn't need to ask to know if I was in pain"

"For fu- now you're taking this too seriously Hinata!" Kiba said, "Asking if you fell from heaven is like.. saying you're as pretty as an angel or.. you are an angel? No wait, does it mean you're a sexy _fallen_ angel?"

Hinata watched as the other began discussing with himself and frowned again, "I'm so confused"

"Okay forget that, we'll do something else" Kiba said shaking his head.

Since when did pick-up lines become so confusing? Hinata must be rubbing off on him.

...

"Hey there beautiful," Kiba said leaning closer to Hinata "why don't you come with me?"

"I'm sorry Kiba-kun," Hinata said with a frown, "I don't really understand what I have to do now"

"You just need to say 'no' and walk away, okay?" Kiba said and when she nodded in understanding he moved back to his starting position, "Alright one more time"

"Hey beautiful," the dog-nin said moving in close to the pale-eyed girl, "won't you come with me?"

"N-no t-thank you?" Hinata answered a little uncertainly.

"Are you sure? We could have a lot of fun together" Kiba pushed, leaning closer to her.

"No thank you" Hinata said more firmly and held out her hand to push him gently.

Only a second after Kiba's face broke into a proud grin, he was completely covered in bugs and he felt the familliar sting of Shino's Kikaichū feeding off of his chakra, "What the-"

He watched as Shino rushed by, snatching Hinata away and giving him a clear view of the giant white dog coming straight at him.

"AKA-!" was all that managed to escape him before the dog crashed into him with a Tsuuga and sent him flying through the air.

"Kiba! How could you betray us like this?" Shino said as he and Akamaru glared at the dog-nin lying motionless on the ground.

"N-no Shino-kun it's not-" Hinata broke in but the Aburame held up his hand to quiet her.

"How could you betray Hinata like this?" he continued, "We swore to protect her from actions of that kind and you-"

"Shino-kun! Really he was only trying to teach me-" Hinata tried but was interrupted again, this time by Akamaru barking angrily at his owner.

Shino began pulling Hinata away, "Do not worry Hinata, Akamaru and I will protect you, even from our friends if necessary" he said. The great nin-dog appeared beside them and barked in agreement, completely ignoring his owner behind them.

As she was dragged out of the training field and away from her 3rd team member, she heard his pained yell of "What the hell Shinoo?!" and hung her head.

"I'm sorry Kiba-kun, I will do my best to make them understand"

...

An hour later Kiba was still in the field where he had been left, but he was now resting against a tree. His whole body was sore after the double attack from his best friend and his ninken, and now he definitely _was_ pouting.

When Shino appeared next to him, Kiba scowled and turned his head away.

The bug-user squatted down beside him, "Hinata assured me that your only purpose was to help her recognise unfavourable behaviour" he said "I am sorry I doubted you"

"You fucking trashed me Shino!" Kiba exclaimed, glaring at him.

"Technically, I only rendered you immobile. Akamaru trashed you" Shino said matter-of-factly.

Kiba only glared harder at him.

"I bought your favourite jerky" the bug-user said holding out a bag, he was not above using bait to get back on Kiba's good side "I hope you will forgive me"

Kiba snatched the bag and stuffed his face with the dried meat, "Fine" he said after swallowing it down "Buy me another pack and you're forgiven"

"Done" Shino said as he pulled another bag, filled with jerky, out of his inner pocket.

Kiba stared for a moment before he broke out into a grin and snatched the other bag as well "I freaking love you man"

Shino settled down next to the dog-nin while the man continued to stuff his face with dried meat.

"So, where's Akamaru?" he asked between mouthfuls.

"He is with Hinata," Shino said, "He seemed to have gotten a stomach ache"

"For the love of- you fed him too much didn't you!? I told you not to!"

"He was very upset by your betrayal" the Aburame said matter-of-factly, "he needed comforting"

...

Next Up:  
Team 8's Nightmare

* * *

Author's note: The poll is now closed. Thank you everyone for voting are sharing your input. After counting everything together, the votes from the poll, from reviews and sent through pm, I can tell you that the results were exactly 50/50 - much to my surprise - but it still helped me decide what I want to do, so thank you very much everyone :)

Thank you for reading~


	8. Team 8's Nightmare

**~Announcement~**  
Thank you everyone for your support interest!  
If this story reaches 70 favourites and 113 followers I will be writing a special Thank You chapter to show my appreciation!  
I'm a bit unsure of whether this goal is unrealistic or too realistic, but I guess we'll see.

* * *

...

Team 8's Nightmare

...

"KIBAAA!" Inuzuka Tsume's loud and barking voice sounded through the house.

"WHAAAT?" her son yelled back from his room as he turned to look towards his door. He raised his brows when, rather than an empty doorway, he was met by the sight of his ever calm teammate Shino.

"Yo," the Aburame greeted quietly with a raised hand only a moment before Tsume's voice reached him again "SHINO'S HERE!"

Kiba rolled his eyes "NO SHIT MA"

As soon as the words left his mouth an air of doom surrounded him and his mother's glaring face appeared next to Shino's shoulder. " _Excuse you_?!" the woman growled at him.

"I-I said y-you're the best ma!" Kiba gulped, shying back from his mother's dangerous look.

"Damn right I am, brat" Tsume huffed before she smirked at Shino and reached a hand up to pet his head. Shino's cheeks gained an almost unnoticeable pink tint at the motherly affection.

The silent nin bowed his head respectfully to the woman before she disappeared down the hall again.

Kiba breathed a sigh of relief when his mother left them and chuckled slightly at Shino's uncomfortable face, "She's been doing that for the last 10 years - you're seriously still getting flustered by it?"

"You exaggerate. Why? It has been no more than 7 years" Shino informed him.

"Not the point" Kiba rolled his eyes and snorted, "Anyway, what's up?"

The Aburame cleared his throat quietly and adjusted his glasses, "We have been called to the Hokage tower to receive our next mission"

"Sweet" Kiba cheered as he pushed Shino back out of his room, "AKAMARU!"

The sound of scrambling and several dogs barking reached them before Akamaru appeared and bounded happily towards them.

"Where's Hinata? We' picking her up?" the dog-nin asked as the three left the Inuzuka house.

"I was only requested to contact you" Shino explained quietly, "I assume Hinata will be there already"

...

When the men of team 8 arrived at the tower, Hinata was no where in sight, and they were still waiting for their last member when they were called before the Hokage.

"Good afternoon" Kakashi said, eyes crinkling in a smile at their confused faces, "We have received information of a rouge ninja being spotted near the country border. Your mission will be to track him down and bring him back to the village for questioning. For this mission the three of you will form a team together with Sai, I expe-"

"Wait what!?" Kiba interrupted, "Team 8 is the best tracking team in this village, why would you replace one of us for a tracking mission?!"

"I agree," Shino continued "While Sai is a formidable ninja, surely it would be much more beneficial for the mission if Hinata were to join us rather than he"

Kakashi sighed and folded his hands on the table in front of him, "That may be, but as it is, Hiashi-san has requested that Hinata stay in town while she is helping her younger sister with her training and.. hm.. something about some sort of Hyuuga tradition" the Hokage waved his hand as if waving the conversation aside, "Sai has experience with tracking, therefore he has been chosen to take her place. As I was saying before, I expect the length of this mission to be around a week or more, so make sure to prepare well for it. You will be leaving tomorrow morning, Sai has already been informed"

As the grey haired man filled them in on the last of the mission's details, the men of team 8 were slowly becoming more and more anxious. The Kikaichū residing in the bug user where stirring in response to their host's discomfort while Kiba had clenched his jaw tight, his canines digging into his bottom lip, dangerously close to breaking the thin skin.

When they were excused they all turned to the door without a word and left the room, Kiba doing his very best to stomp through the floor and slam the door off of its hinges while Kakashi shook his head and took out his book.

Outside of the tower the two men stopped, now distanced from the evil Hokage the anger towards said man had been replaced with a feeling of apprehension, and they turned to each other with faces full of dread.

"Shit" they exclaimed as one, quietly in Shino's case, while Akamaru howled beside them.

...

A short while later found them all entering Shino's room at the Aburame compound. Kiba immediately threw himself onto Shino's neatly made bed and pushed his face into the pillows miserably, while his nin-dog settled on the floor with a heavy sigh.

The bug user silently sat down, cross-legged, on the edge of his bed and waited for the other to talk. He had known the dog-nin long enough to know, it was only a matter of time before the man would be unable to keep his thoughts inside and they would spill forth like an avalanche.

A moment later Kiba flipped over and looked at the ceiling, "We'll just have to go back and tell Kakashi-sensei to find someone else to do the mission" he said throwing his hands in the air.

Shino looked down at him, "We cannot do that. Why?" he said "Because refusing a mission, for the sole reason that we cannot have Hinata with us, is not acceptable"

"It's a totally valid reason!" Kiba growled, eyes glaring at him.

"To us, yes, but it will not be for the Hokage," Shino explained calmly, "You know this is the truth,"

Kiba huffed and looked back at the ceiling for a while before speaking again, "Okay.. then.. we'll have to find someone we can trust to protect Hinata while we're gone"

"Hn, that would be the best course of action" Shino nodded his head in agreement, "But who could we ask? Sakura?"

Kiba sat up and scrunched his face in thought "Yeeaah but.. can we really trust her- or any of the girls really -to not start teaching Hinata how to flirt right back at the creeps?" he asked seriously with a grimace.

The Aburame's eye twitched behind his glasses and the corner of his lips turned down for a second, "No"

The two became silent while they thought of who they could trust with their beloved teammate's innocence.

"Shikamaru would most likely find the task too troublesome" Shino commented after some time "And while Chouji is a very compassionate man, I'm afraid-"

"-He'd forget about her at the sight of food" Kiba finished before his eyes lit up "What about Gaara?! Gaara could work!"

"Gaara-san is the Kazekage, he would not have time for this mission," the bug user said, "Besides, we leave tomorrow, even if he was willing he wouldn't be able to make it in time"

"Urgh" Kiba groaned falling back into the pillows again "And no way are we asking Lee! He'd probably make her wear those stupid green tights and that will just make everything worse!"

"I'm afraid we cannot trust Hanabi either" the Aburame said.

"She might try to set Hinata up with someone for fun" Kiba agreed, "That kid has the worst sense of humour when it comes to her older sister!"

"What of your sister? She cares for Hinata, she would surely help us" Shino asked.

"On a mission" Kiba grumbled "No idea when she gets back"

The two became quiet again for several minutes, both lost deep in thought until the dog-nin suddenly threw himself into an upright position again, the sudden move making Shino twitch.

"OH MY GOD SHINO!" Kiba exclaimed, eyes wide and desperate, "We can't trust anyone in this freaking village! Even the Hokage is a fucking pervert!". The dog-nin clenched his hands tightly in his hair "Shino! What are we gonna do!?"

Shino took a deep breath and turned to face the other properly, "I think we only have one option" he said in such a calm and resolute voice that it made Kiba freeze.

"N-no you can't mean-" Kiba's wide eyes blinked at him and the other gave an affirmative nod "p-please don't say- anything but that!"

"We have to-" the quiet man started.

"No Shino!" the dog-nin cried desperately and flung himself at the bug user.

Shino caught the man easily by the arms to avoid being crashed into "Ask for-"

Kiba slapped his hands out, trying to cover the mouth which was about to speak those most foul words "Shino don't!"

"-Naruto's help" Shino finished before Kiba's hand made contact with his face. His eyebrows rose marginally as the hand slid down his cheek miserably and Kiba threw himself off of the bed with a dramatic cry of "SHINO NOO!"

The Aburame leaned across the bed and looked calmly down at the man sprawled on the floor.

"Shino, you've doomed us" Kiba whined at him.

"Our misfortune will only be greater if we do not ask him" Shino responded.

"Stop sounding so rational! It's pissing me off!" the dog-nin whined louder, which earned him a blank stare, followed by a pillow to the face.

...

Next Up:  
The Orange Protector

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed~

& a short update: School has now started for me which means I don't have as much time or energy to write as I did a few weeks back, therefore I will aim for updating only once a week from now on.

Thank you again for your support and patience!


	9. The Fox and the Hound (and the Bug)

Author's note: yo guys, you may have noticed that the chapter title is not the one you were promised, this is because I decided to split the chapter 'The Orange Protector' in two. The reason for this is as I began writing the chapter I suddenly found myself lost on the path of creativity and ended up on the path of life and- yeah, no. Truth is, I ended up with more homework than expected this weekend and it's left me completely drained of energy. But I didn't want to leave you guys with nothing, which is why I split the chapter up and now give you the first part. Thank you for your understanding and I hope you enjoy!

* * *

...

The Fox and the Hound (and the Bug)

...

"Found you" Kiba growled as he, Shino and Akamaru landed on the ground a few meters from where Naruto and one of his clones were training. The two blonds stopped their fight and looked up at the group with identical curious faces, "You were looking for me?" the original Naruto asked.

"We need to talk to you" the dog-nin grumbled, stalking towards the blond while Shino followed behind calmly.

"About what?" Naruto asked as he released his clone with a 'poof', "And why are you looking at me like that-ttebayo?!"

At the blond's words, Shino glanced at Kiba and saw the dangerous look in his eye, a look which almost resembled that of his mother's, the bug user noted, before he looked back at Naruto.

"Please ignore him" Shino said quietly, gaining the blond's attention, "We have an urgent matter which we need to discuss with you"

"Yeah?" Naruto said uncertainly, raising his eyebrows at the silent man.

"Kiba, Akamaru and I will be leaving for a mission tomorrow, Hinata will not be joining us" Shino said, "We have sworn to always protect her from evil intents but we have no possibility of doing so while we are away"

Naruto's frown deepened, confused at the other's words and at the same time wondering when he had last heard the Aburame speak so much at once.

Shino continued to explain in his ever monotonous voice, "We have gone through every possible option and after much thought we have come to the conclusion-"

" _You_ 've come to the conclusion" Kiba muttered grumpily.

" _We_ have come to the conclusion," the bug user said again, not sparing his friend a glance, "That you, Naruto, are the only person who we can trust with the task of protecting Hinata in our absence. So you see, we are in desperate need of your assistance"

It took a moment for Naruto to realise the man had finished speaking. He blinked rapidly, still in shock over the amount of words that had left Shino's mouth, before he tilted his head to the side, "Eeh? I don't really see it" he said.

Kiba began glaring at him again and Naruto swore he could hear the man growl at him, the great dog mimicking his master in the background.

"I mean, Hinata is really strong, she could beat up anyone who tried to hurt her! She doesn't need anyone to protect her-ttebayo!" Naruto said, holding his hands up defensively.

"GAH! You're such an idiot" the Inuzuka exclaimed.

"Kiba, be calm" Shino said, placing a hand on the dog-nin's shoulder before looking at the blond again, "We are not asking you to protect Hinata in battle, what we are asking is for you to protect her innocence"

Naruto stared at them blankly, that made no sense at all to him, "..what?"

"Hinata's increasing popularity has made it near impossible for her to walk through the streets of Konoha, without being courted to" the Aburame explained with a sigh "However, Hinata is oblivious of said courters' intentions, therefore she is in need of protection"

"Courted? Courters?" Naruto asked, face scrunched up in confusion.

"For the- what he's saying is creeps are constantly coming on to her without her noticing!" Kiba huffed angrily. When Naruto continued to blink confusedly at him, the dog-nin rolled his eyes "Listen carefully! _WE_ need _YOU_ to keep _EVERYONE_ out of _HINATA'S_ _PANTS_ while we're gone! GET IT?!"

Naruto jerked back in shock, eyes wide and scandalised as he stared at Kiba "EEH?! W-wha-what the hell are you saying-ttebayo?!"

Shino readjusted his glasses, "While crudely put, that is essentially what we need you to do" he said with a nod, "Naruto, Hinata is very precious to us, we do not wish for anyone to take advantage of her kindness, that is why you must agree to protect her"

Naruto looked at the bug user with surprise, the man always had the same monotonous voice which never gave away any emotion, but just now the blond had clearly heard the pain and worry which hid underneath the dull tones.

He swallowed as it finally hit him, that all those men he'd seen talking to Hinata over the past months, had had more on their minds than just friendly conversation when they approached the pale woman.

He'd seen the looks, but he had never expected that anyone would actually try to take advantage of the sweetest and most gentle woman he had ever met.

It made the, by now, well known prickling appear under his skin and something akin to protectiveness flared deep in his chest.

"I get it" Naruto said firmly to the two men in front of him, "You can count on me to protect Hinata while you're away-ttebayo!"

...

Next Up:

Part two: The Orange Protector

* * *

 **~Announcement~  
** _Same announcement as last week:_  
 _If this story reaches 70 favourites and 113 followers I will be writing a special Thank You chapter to show my appreciation!_  
 _Thank you everyone for your support and interest!_

Holy shit you guys! I went to bed after posting this chapter and when I woke up again, this story had already passed 70 faves and 113 follows! - I did not expect this to happen for another few days!

I promise I'll do my best to finish the Thank You chapter and the second part of this chapter soon!  
Thank you so much everyone for your support and love!


	10. The Orange Protector - Part I

Author's note: before you start worrying; yes I did split this part of the chapter up as well, BUT it's only because this chapter got so FUDGEING long!  
I don't know what happened, maybe I wanted to make things up to you guys after last week's short chapter or maybe I just went crazy.  
Either way, I thought the chapter got too long and fearing it might feel too heavy to read through in one go, I split it in two.

Rest assured, the next part will be coming soon! I have been writing on this for the past 8 hours and before that I was doing homework, so now I really need a short break and some dinner, and then I'll do a quick proofread of the next part - so expect part 2 to be up in a few hours.

Thank you for reading & I hope you will enjoy this chapter full of random Naruto and Hinata interactions!

* * *

...

The Orange Protector - part I

...

Naruto arrived at the village gates early the next morning, where he would be meeting up with team 8, Hinata included, before the guys left.

He made sure to get there before their agreed meet time; that way Kiba wouldn't have an excuse, to accuse him of not taking his mission seriously.

The blonde yawned and stretched his arms; he had barely gotten any sleep the night before.  
After talking to Shino and Kiba, his head had been so full of thoughts and memories of seeing Hinata talking to men and of those men's intentions. It had been impossible to escape and resulted in him tossing and turning the whole night, only falling asleep an hour before the alarm blared at him.

Despite the minimal amount of sleep, Naruto had instantly sprung out of bed. He dressed and ate his morning ramen with a speed, which rivalled that of his father's on the battlefield, and then he was out of the door.

As he watched the group appearing in the distance, 20 minutes later, he almost wished he hadn't been so early.

Naruto watched the great white nin-dog, as it walked in front of the group, constantly glancing back at them. The blond followed the dog's eyes and frowned as he noticed how Kiba was, once again, wrapped around Hinata possessively, while the bug user was glued to her side, a tight hold on one of her hands.

"They resemble a group of overgrown puppies, trying to delay the moment when their master will depart. Do they not?"

Naruto jumped back and glared at Sai, who squatted on the roof of the guard house, "How long have you been there!?"

Sai shrugged and smiled, before he jumped off the roof and landed next to the blond.

Naruto considered yelling at Sai for not announcing his presence earlier, but he had to admit, the man's comment had made him feel a little better, though he'd never say that out loud, of course.

The men stood together, in silence, and watched the group approach them.

Kiba was talking quietly to Hinata and from the way her eyes moved to Shino, Naruto assumed he was speaking to her as well, though Naruto couldn't actually see the man's mouth.

Sai had a point; they did kind of resemble a group of puppies, trying to make the most of the last of their time with Hinata, before they had to leave. It almost made Naruto smile, but at the same time, it made him feel a little lonely.

When Hinata looked towards him and smiled with a "Good morning Naruto-kun, Sai-san", he shook the thoughts out of his head and grinned back, "Morning Hinata"

"Good morning Hinata-san" Sai said, smiling.

"Yo Naruto," Kiba said, smirking wolfishly as he finally let the pale-eyed woman go. He stalked towards Naruto and slung his arm around the blond, before dragging him off to the side.

"What do you want?" Naruto muttered, glancing back at the others.

"Just need to make sure you remember; if anyone touches so much as a hair on her head, you're dead!" Kiba growled at him, "And if _you_ hurt her in any way, you'll _wish_ you were dead!"

Naruto glared back at the dog-nin, "Don't worry; I remember your stupid threats" he huffed "And as if I'd let anything happen to Hinata, I promised I'd protect her!"

"You'd better!" Kiba muttered, before he went back to his teammates.

Naruto followed with a pout, which turned into a frown as Kiba called out to Hinata.

"Oi, Hinata" the dog-nin said as he bent down towards the woman, who looked up at him with questioning eyes. With a pout on his lips, Kiba turned his cheek to her and tapped his finger against it.  
"K-Kiba-kun!" a soft, pink glow appeared on Hinata's cheeks, as she glanced at Naruto quickly, before she placed her lips gently against Kiba's cheek.

The blond's frown deepened and he scratched at his arm, as a familiar prickle started up under his skin.

He watched the dog-nin grin at the Hyuuga and ruffle her hair, before Shino stepped close to her. "Please, do not forget about me" the bug user said, bending down to her and showing his cheek.

Hinata couldn't help but smile; "Of course not Shino-kun" she said and pressed her lips to the bug-user's cheek.

"Naruto, will you kiss my cheek as well?" Sai asked the blonde with a smile.

Naruto glared at him, "Shut up" he exclaimed and turned away. Why weren't they leaving yet, he grumbled to himself, and why did they have to say goodbye like that anyway?!

...

"Please take care of yourselves" Hinata said, smiling gently, "You too Sai-san"

"We'll be fine" Kiba grinned, the great nin-dog barking in agreement.

Shino nodded, "Do not worry about us Hinata, we will return soon"

"I will watch over your puppies while we're away" Sai assured her, while Kiba sputtered in the background "What did you just call us?!"

...

A short while later, Naruto and Hinata were walking towards the Hyuuga compound in comfortable silence.

"Um, Naruto-kun?" the pale-eyed woman spoke after some time.

The blond looked towards her curiously, "Yeah?"

"I'm sure you have more important things to do, than stay with me for the next week, so it's okay if you don't stay, I promise I won't tell" Hinata assured him, as she smiled gently.

"Eh? No way, Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed, "I promised I would protect you and I never go back on my word, you know that!"

He grinned and scratched the back of his head, "And actually, I don't have much else to do. Tsunade-baachan made Kakashi-sensei agree to not send me on any missions out of the village until I learn how to use my arm properly,"

"O-oh, I didn't know that" Hinata said softly, "I-is there a problem with your new arm?"

Naruto held his bandaged arm out and stared at it, "Not really" he said, clenching and unclenching his hand a couple of times, "I.. I don't know.. Sakura-chan says I'm being silly, but it's just.. it still doesn't really feel like my arm, y'know"

"Oh, I-I think I understand" Hinata said gently and nodded.

Naruto looked surprised, "You do?"

"Ah well.. I mean, it must have been really difficult, for you to lose your arm, but you moved forwards and didn't allow it to bring you down." Hinata spoke softly, "And then you got your prosthetic arm, but even though you can use it, I think maybe, you don't feel completely connected with it on an emotional level. I mean, I'm not saying you-"

Naruto smiled and interrupted her, "You're really smart Hinata," she looked at him surprised, "You totally get it. It's really nice to know someone understands" he told her.

"Even if I don't understand, I will always be willing to hear your worries, Naruto-kun" Hinata told him honestly, "And I will do my best to try and understand"

Naruto felt something warm and comforting, spread through his body, at her words and he smiled, "You're always so nice Hinata" he said, enjoying the pink colour rising on her cheeks.

...

When Hinata and Naruto arrived at the compound, Hanabi bounced towards them, greeting her sister happily, before looking to the blond, "What's Naruto-san doing here?" she asked.

"I'm here to protect Hinata!" Naruto grinned.

The girl tilted her head with a raised brow, before she spotted her older sister's blush and grinned, "Good luck, Naruto-san"

"Are you ready Hanabi?" Hinata spoke up, lest her sister start saying anything embarrassing to her crush.

"Hai, Nee-chan" the younger girl said happily and led the way around the building, to their training court.

"Naruto-kun, please let me know if you need anything," Hinata told him.

"Thanks Hinata," Naruto grinned and watched as the woman took off her coat, revealing her tightfitting training outfit, and folded it neatly on the ground. Blushing, the blond quickly turned away and conjured a clone.

He swore he could hear Hanabi giggling behind him.

"Let's warm up" Hinata said and the younger girl agreed, moving to stand next to her sister.

Naruto normally didn't warm up, but he was a little curious, to see how the siblings did it, and couldn't help but peek back over at them.

He watched, as Hinata moved her arms and legs slowly and elegantly through the air around her, and Naruto couldn't decide whether it looked like she was dancing or like she was caressing the wind with her movements.

Next to her, Hanabi moved in much the same way, trying to mimic every move her older sister made, though not quite as elegantly.

The blonde smiled and turned back to his clone, only to find him still staring at Hinata, "Oi" he hissed.

His clone blushed and rubbed his neck, while Naruto scowled at him.

...

Naruto stayed with the Hyuuga girls the rest of the day, training alongside them, taking breaks with them and eating with them.

He learned that Hanabi really liked to tease her sister, but even through her teasing, Naruto could feel how much she cared for and admired the woman.

He also learned that Hinata was an amazing cook.

He vaguely remembered tasting Hinata's delicious home-cooking many years ago, and he wondered how he had ever been able to forget her talent.

...

The next day went much the same, as the day before. Naruto returned to the Hyuuga compound to train alongside the sisters and he spent the first few minutes, not so secretly, if Hanabi's giggle was any indication, watching Hinata's warm up. He had decided to wait until after their warm up, before conjuring a clone today. Much to the clone's disappointment.

...

Again, he took his breaks together with the girls, though he stopped a little before them, to watch them fight together, with curious eyes. The two sisters both used the Hyuuga clans' techniques, but to Naruto's surprise, they fought very differently.

During their warm ups, Hanabi mimicked her older sister carefully, but during their training she moved completely differently.

While Hinata still moved with the same grace and elegance as she fought, Hanabi was much stiffer and more particular with every move she made.

Naruto wondered how two sisters could be so different, in almost every way, and he remembered the tales he'd been told of the Hyuuga family, during the chunin exams many years ago. He realised that maybe it wasn't so strange, after all, that they were so different from each other.

...

The Uzumaki later came to learn, that Hanabi wasn't just interested in teasing her sister, but also seemed to find amusement in teasing him.

He had discovered this, when the two had been alone for a moment and Naruto had walked around the court, studying all the flowers which grew around the edge.

"Hey Naruto-san" Hanabi called out to him, "If you want to impress Nee-chan, you should avoid peeing on her flowers"

Naruto jumped back and stared at the girl, cheeks reddening as he spluttered, "I-I-I wasn't gonna pee on anyone's flowers-ttebayo!"

The girl laughed at him and he turned away. Despite the fact that he _hadn't_ been planning on peeing on _anything_ , she had still managed to embarrass him.

The teasing had led him to learn something, though; apparently Hinata grew flowers.

He had never known the quiet girl shared one of his hobbies, and the discovery caused the warm feeling, to return to his chest.

...

Later in the day, Naruto went with Hinata to a tea shop, where he learned the pale-eyed woman had a wide knowledge, on tea leaves and their benefits. He asked her about different teas and she answered with a smile.

When he asked if she knew of a ramen-flavoured tea, she began to giggle. He didn't really mind though, since the sound of her giggle was really nice.

...


	11. The Orange Protector - Part II

Author's note: Ba-dum-tissh!  
As promised, here is the second part of the chapter. I hope you enjoy!

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...

The Orange Protector - Part II

...

On the third day of Naruto's mission, he joined the sisters as they did their warm up. The blond watched Hinata's movements carefully and did his best to follow her every move.

The dark-haired woman didn't notice the blond next to her, until Hanabi started giggling. Looking round, Hinata spotted Naruto a few feet away and watched as he attempted to mirror her pose, with little luck. When she caught the orange-clad man's eyes, he grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly.

Hinata smiled shyly and began her warm up again, this time making her movements a little slower and simpler.

...

During their breaks, Naruto began asking Hinata questions about her flowers. The woman blushed when he asked questions about herself, not used to being the object of his curiosity, but the blond didn't seem to notice or care, as he eagerly listened to her speak.

Hinata told him, how she enjoyed planting flowers, caring for them and watching them grow tall and beautiful with her help. Naruto told her, how he had always loved the same, how he had found joy in the growth of flowers, since he was a child.

Hinata smiled warmly as she listed to his stories and when he asked her, what she did after the flowers were grown, she told him of her love for flower pressing.

...

The fifth day arrived and Naruto started the day's training, to Hinata's joy and Hanabi's amusement, with warming up together with the Hyuuga-sisters, as he had done the past two days.

Later in the day, Hanabi convinced her sister to allow her to train alone with her kunais and told Hinata to train with Naruto.

The blond eagerly agreed, though the dark-haired woman frowned at her sister, "Be careful Hanabi"

"Hai, hai" Hanabi said, waving her sister away.

Naruto grinned at Hinata, as they got into their fighting stances, facing each other, and the woman blushed softly. The blush faded the instant they began fighting, and the shy expression was replaced with a calm and focused look.

Naruto felt an almost giddy sensation in his stomach, as he had to move quickly to evade each of Hinata's strikes. He rarely trained with someone, who forced him to stay on his toes, as much as she did at the moment and it excited him to be challenged on his speed like this.

After a while, the blond realised, with surprise, that Hinata was continually focusing her aims on his right side. He was unsure whether she did it on purpose or instinct, but he suddenly understood why training with his clones, didn't help him make progress with his arm. He and his copies all favoured their left side, keeping their right arm out of the fight, as much as possible.

"Ouch!" a voice rang through the court and his fight with Hinata ended abruptly. Before Naruto had time to react, the woman had disappeared and rushed to her sister, "Hanabi!"

Naruto quickly followed the dark-haired woman to where the younger Hyuuga stood, holding her hand protectively against her chest.

"Hanabi, please stay focused when you are using your kunais, they are not toys!" Hinata scolded, though her voice was dripping with worry.

"I know" Hanabi whimpered, as her sister took hold of her hand and gently pried it open.

"What end of the kunai were you holding on to?!" Naruto exclaimed when he saw the large cut across the girl's hand. Hanabi pouted at him, while Hinata gave him small frown, "Naruto-kun, will you please get my pouch for me?" she asked.

The blond nodded and rushed to the spot, where he had seen her leave her coat and pouches, earlier in the day.

Hinata accepted the pouch gratefully and opened it to reveal an assortment of medical aids. Naruto watched as she carefully cleaned and dried the cut on her sister's hand, before handing the girl a small jar, "Please use this while I prepare some bandages"

"Thank you Nee-chan" Hanabi said and did as her sister had requested.

Naruto frowned at the jar. It seemed familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before. "What's that?" he asked the girl.

Hanabi looked up at him and showed him the jar's contents, "It's medicine, Nee-chan made it"

"Oh" Naruto murmured. As he watched Hinata wrap the younger girl's hand up, a memory of a much younger Hinata entered his mind.

 _'N-Naruto-kun' the girl had said, bowing her head as she offered him a small jar._

 _'What's this?' he had asked._

 _Hinata's sensei had answered, 'Medicinal cream'_

 _'Why for me?' he had then asked._

 _'Just take it Naruto' Kurenai told him._

"Let's stop for today" Hinata's voiced brought him back to reality, and he watched Hanabi hug her sister with another "Thank you"

...

Later, when Naruto returned home, he began searching through every nook and cranny until he finally found what he was looking for.

Hidden away in a corner of the bottom dresser drawer and underneath an old and worn shirt, he found a small jar, which was an exact replica of the one he had seen earlier.

He held the jar in his hands for the longest time, before he carefully set it down on the table next to his bed.

...

When the sixth day arrived, Naruto had begun to wonder what made Kiba and Shino so worried about leaving Hinata.

Naruto had stayed at her side, whenever she went outside of the Hyuuga compound, and so far, no one had approached her. There had been plenty of crude looks, but since he had been told, by Shino, not to fight with anyone, as that would only upset Hinata, his only action thus far, had been to glare at people.

Of course, Naruto didn't realise, that the reason why she hadn't been approached by anyone, was the fact that he was always by her side. And it was this, which caused him to make his greatest mistake of the week.

...

Naruto and Hinata had been walking to a flower shop, when he had been spotted by his 'fan girls', as Sakura called them. They had him surrounded in moments and before he had a chance to think, he had agreed to meet up with Hinata at the shop, rather than following her there.

...

Hinata studied the flowers in front of her, soon finding what she was looking for. She went to pay for her flowers and as she left the shop, she found herself face to face, with a man who smirked down at her.

Hinata stepped back, "S-sorry" she said and began to move around him, only to be stopped by an arm.

"I noticed your boyfriends haven't been around lately" the man said and she frowned at him, "Did you by chance break up?"

"Please excuse me" Hinata said and tried to move past him again, as his words caused a feeling of unease to rise in her.

"You don't want to talk?" he asked, moving fully in front of her again.

"No thank you" she answered, "I need to go"

...

Naruto finally got away from the group of girls and hurried to catch up with Hinata, hoping she hadn't been waiting for too long.

"What the heck?!" he said as he spotted Hinata, looking uncomfortable as a man stepped in front of her, blocking her way.

"Oi leave Hinata alone!" Naruto yelled, rushing to the woman's aid. He stepped in between Hinata and the man and glared at the stranger, "Leave her alone, she doesn't want to talk to you!"

...

"Thank you, Naruto-kun" Hinata said quietly as they walked back to her house.

"I'm sorry, Hinata," Naruto said, looking at her guiltily, "I shouldn't have let you go alone"

"Oh, don't worry Naruto-kun, it's not your fault" Hinata assured him and smiled, "And you came to help me when I needed it. So I'm really grateful"

Naruto smiled back at her, but the feeling of guilt only eased marginally. He was disappointed with himself, for not keeping a better eye on her and he was angry with the men, who thought it was alright for them to approach Hinata so casually.

...

The eight day started much the same as the previous days had; Naruto arrived at the Hyuuga compound and joined the sisters with their warm up, before he went off to train on his own for a while. A few hours later, during one of their breaks, Hanabi approached him and asked him to team up with her in a fight with Hinata.

Naruto grinned, "Two against one, isn't that unfair?"

Hanabi smiled at him, "Nee-chan can take it" she assured as she began dragging him towards her sister.

"What's going on?" Hinata asked, as she looked at her sister and Naruto curiously.

"Naruto-san is going to team up with me and fight you!" Hanabi proclaimed, while Naruto grinned embarrassedly.

"Oh, is that so?" the woman smiled at them both, "Then I won't go easy on you"

Naruto couldn't keep the smile off of his face, as he and Hanabi fought together against Hinata, who fought back with everything she got. She hadn't been lying, when she said she wouldn't go easy on them, he noted, as she used their weaknesses against them, but that only made it much more exciting.

...

An hour later, the fight had turned from serious training into a game, and the court was filled with laughter.

"Nonono, Hanabi, no more!" Hinata giggled, as Naruto and one of his clones held her in place, while Hanabi tickled the woman's sides, "Na-Naruto-kun, please, help me"

"Sorry Hinata, I'm only following orders from the captain" the blond shared a grin with the younger sister.

"I-I thought you we-were supposed to pro-protect me-eeh" Hinata's face was flushed bright red as she continued to laugh at the relentless tickle attack.

"Oh right!" Naruto exclaimed. He and his clone immediately let go of Hinata, before turning on the younger girl and started their own tickle attack on her.

...

A while later, they all agreed that the result of their fight was a draw and Hinata prepared tea and sweets for them to celebrate their shared victory.

Naruto felt strangely warm all over, as he watched Hinata talk to her younger sister, her cheeks still showing signs of their earlier 'battle'.

"Ah," Naruto said suddenly as he noticed something on the girl's shirt, "Hinata, there's a bug on you!"

"Oh?" Hinata followed his eyes and looked at her shoulder. Her eyes widened when she spotted the dark red ladybug on her shoulder, "It's Shino-kun!" she smiled happily.

Naruto squinted at the bug, "Huh?"

"It's one of Shino-kun's friends. He's letting us know that they're almost back" Hinata explained to Naruto and got up from her seat.

"O-oh" Naruto murmured.

...

It felt like something shattered inside of Naruto, when he realised that his 'mission' would soon be ending and he wouldn't need to stay with Hinata everyday anymore. A feeling of emptiness began to grow somewhere inside of him.

Almost in a daze, he followed the pale-eyed woman to the village gates where they met up with the men of Team 8 and Sai.

He watched as Kiba lifted Hinata up and hugged her tight, before Shino and the nin-dog joined in.

"Naruto?" Sai's voice reached him and Naruto blinked at the pale man, who for once, wasn't smiling at him.

"Naruto, are you well?" the artist asked, with the tiniest hint of concern in his voice.

Naruto frowned at him before he smiled awkwardly, "Yeah, fine fine" he said "how was the mission?"

...

"Naruto!" Kiba barked at him.

The blond sighed, as he turned towards the dog-nin, "What?"

"Hinata told us you did a good job protecting her this week and.." Kiba looked away and ran his hand through his hair awkwardly, "I just want to say, thanks, for taking care of her"

"We are very grateful" Shino spoke up, making the dog-nin jump, with a "Geez Shino!"

"No problem" Naruto said awkwardly and turned to leave when Hinata called out to him.

Hinata smiled gently at him, "Thank you for your hard work Naruto-kun! I hope you will join Hanabi and I for a rematch soon"

Naruto stayed still for a moment, before a wide grin spread across his face, "You can count on me!" he proclaimed.

...

As Naruto lay in his bed later that night, there was still a feeling of emptiness inside of him and an unpleasant itching under his skin. But as he looked at the jar on his bedside table, he remembered the feeling of holding Hinata's warm and shaking body close, the sound of her giggles close to his ear and how her hair had tickled his chin.

Naruto's face heated up at the memory and he smiled to himself, feeling some of the emptiness fade away.

...

Next up:  
Thank You Chapter: Memories of Team 8

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Author's note: phew, I still don't know what the heck happened to this chapter, maybe I unintentionally did a baika no jutsu on it..

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this multi-sized chapter. The thank you chapter, for reaching 70 follows and 113 faves, may or may not be up some time tomorrow. I'll do my best to get it done quickly, but no promises.

Thank you again for all your support!


	12. Thank You: Memories of Team 8

Author's note: the clock just passed midnight where I am, so technically it's no longer Sunday, but I know it's still Sunday many other places in the world, so I'll consider this a successfully timed update.

Anyway, here is the Thank You chapter I wrote to show my appreciation for all the love this story has gained this past month. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

...

Thank You: Memories of Team 8

...~...~...

"Team 8" Iruka called from the front of the class, "Will consist of; Hyuuga Hinata"

"Y-yes" Hinata sat up straighter and fidgeted with her fingers nervously.

"Inuzuka Kiba"

A cheer and a bark, made her turn her eyes, to the boy, a few seats down. Kiba grinned widely at her and used his dog's front paws to wave at her. Hinata smiled back shyly.

"Aburame Shino"

"Hn" the quiet acknowledgement came from the boy behind her and she turned in her seat, to look up at him.

"Yo" he said just as quietly, inclining his head to her. "H-hi" she smiled, bowing her head in return.

...

The first time Team 8 were training together, they took turns to show off their fighting techniques.

Hinata went first, showing the power of her Gentle Fist, by using her technique to create deep indents in a tree.

Kiba cheered her on loudly, making her blush, before he showed off his tsuga against the same tree, successfully cutting it in two. Kiba grinned wolfishly at Shino and urged him to show his moves.

The Aburame walked to the cut down tree and released his bugs on it, encouraging them to cut it in smaller pieces.

The moment Kiba realised just _what_ it was that came flying, from the other's sleeves, he jumped back. "Aargh, what the hell?!" he yelled, staring wide eyed at the bugs, "That's so gross!"

Hinata didn't know either Kiba or Shino that well yet, but she was certain the tiny twitch she saw Shino make, was an indication of him being hurt by Kiba's words. It made her feel bad, especially as she, deep down, had felt something similar to Kiba.

The pale-eyed girl bit her bottom lip in worry and watched the bug user retreat silently.

Hinata had never been overly fond of bugs. It wasn't that she was scared of them, but she wasn't exactly comfortable with them either. Butterflies and ladybugs were one thing, but beetles and spiders were a whole other thing.

She would be lying if she said; she found the little black creatures to be anything but icky.

But now she was part of a team with a bug user, who was clearly hurt by others' disgust, and she decided; she would do her best to overcome her discomfort, for the sake of her teammate.

...

The next day, during one of their breaks, Hinata sat down next to where Shino rested and poked the tips of her fingers together nervously.

"U-um, S-Shino-kun? May I ask you a question?" she asked softly and watched as the boy silently nodded, "I-I was wondering.. d-do your bugs have names?"

Across from them, Kiba looked up from his snacks, with furrowed brows, wondering what on earth the girl was doing.

Shino stayed silent for a long moment, Hinata almost thought he was ignoring her question, before he spoke quietly, "The Kikaichū do not stay alive long enough, for there to be any purpose in naming them"

"O-oh, I didn't know" Hinata said softly, bowing her head "I'm sorry"

"Wa-wait but dude-" Kiba suddenly came crawling across the ground towards them, looking at the bug user with wide eyes, "A-aren't they, like, a part of you?!"

"Technically they are not a part _of_ me, but _in_ me" the Aburame answered calmly.

Normally, Kiba would have accused him of 'nit-picking', but at the moment, it didn't seem all that important, "But.. Then.. Does it hurt? When they die I mean" he asked worriedly.

Shino adjusted his glasses, "It depends"

"O-on what?" Hinata asked quietly, touching her fingers to her lips.

"On whether they are within my body, at the time of their passing, or not" the bug user answered.

...

"Hey Shino" Kiba approached the bug user a while later, "I'm sorry for what I said yesterday, it was kinda mean and.. yeah, I'm sorry"

"It is fine. Why?" Shino answered in his monotonous voice, "Because, if team members cannot be honest with each other, then the team will be doomed to failure"

Kiba stared at him for a long moment before he began to laugh, "You're so weird man! I really like that" he grinned widely at Shino.

Beneath his coat, Shino smiled back.

...~...~...

After the fight, between Neji and Hinata, at the chunin exams, the pale-eyed girl had been forced to stay in the hospital for weeks. When she was finally released, Kiba and Shino were reluctant to let her be alone, especially when her cousin was anywhere near, and so they decided to stay by her side, day and night.

However, the girl's father would not allow the boys to stay inside the house, which led the two to the decision that they would camp outside of Hinata's open window instead.

"A-are you sure you will be alright?" Hinata asked, stretching out of her window to look at Kiba and Shino.

Kiba grinned, as he closed up his sleeping bag around himself and Akamaru, "We'll be fine Hinata"

Shino nestled deep into his own sleeping bag, wiggling about until he was almost completely covered by the fabric, "Do not worry about us, we have slept in worse places on missi-"

Shino's words were interrupted by Kiba's barking laugh, and the bug user turned his body towards the boy, so he could frown at him, "What?"

The dog-nin snorted through his laughter, "You look like a Shino-burrito!"

"I think it's more like a Shino-cocoon" Hinata said softly, with a smile.

"Oh yeah, that's better" Kiba agreed, grinning.

Shino silently turned away from the other again, before he lay down and burrowed deeper into the fabric around him. "We will see in the morning, if I emerge as a butterfly or a meal from a foreign country" he said quietly.

Hinata giggled and Kiba snorted again.

...

During their second night at the Hyuuga compound, Kiba and Akamaru gained a habit of getting into fights with the cats, who stalked around the premises.

Barks and hisses rang through the open court during the nights, waking many of the sleeping clan members, from both the main and branch houses. After some time, a buzzing sound would move through the court and the barks would fall silent for a few hours, before they started up again.

The head of the main house was not pleased with these nightly disturbances, and after the fourth night, Hiashi went to see the boys' parents.

...

In hindsight, starting with Inuzuka Tsume probably wasn't the best idea.

...

"You ought to put a leash on that son of yours!"

Hinata curled in on herself, at the sound of her father's cold voice and she felt both of her teammates move closer to her. She, Kiba and Shino were huddled together outside the door of the Inuzuka's living room, as they eavesdropped on the conversation inside.

"You keep that nephew of yours on a tight leash first, then I'll consider it" Tsume growled back dangerously.

"You tell 'im Ma'" Kiba cheered his mother on in a whisper.

"How dare you!" Hiashi's voice rang firmly through the door.

"How dare I?! How dare you!" Tsume barked back, "We all know what your nephew did to your daughter, after being raised under _your_ roof and _you_ dare come here, telling me how to raise _my_ child?!"

"I beg your pardon!"

"Beg my pardon all you want!" Tsume growled, "The truth is my pup and Shibi's boy are doing the job which you should be doing! Protecting your daughter!"

"Kiba" The three friends startled and turned their eyes to the young woman in front of them.

"Kiba," Hana said again, keeping her voice quiet, "Why don't you and your friends come help me with the puppies?"

Kiba frowned at his sister, "Wha- you don't need he-".

The look on his older siblings face, made him close his mouth and swallow. It was a look of warning, the same she used to send him away, whenever their mother was about to get in a fight with someone.

Kiba turned to Shino and Hinata and grinned brightly, "Right, you guys totally need to see the puppies!" he said, grabbing their hands and dragging them off down the hall, "They're almost as cute as Akamaru!"

...

After his meeting with Tsume, Hiashi, much to Team 8's surprise, allowed Hinata to stay with the boys' families, whenever they'd like. The only condition was that the boys stayed away from the Hyuuga compound at night.

Most days the team would, at the end of the day, gather and sleep over at Kiba's, where Tsume and Hana treated Hinata, and Shino, as part of the pack.

It was also at Kiba's house that they were allowed to make the best and biggest blanket forts.

With the help of Kiba's sister, they created their finest forts in the living room, where they would huddle up, eating sweets and telling jokes all through the evenings. As night fell, Tsume would usher the family dogs towards the blanket fort, where they would settle down for the night and fall asleep with the three friends nestled together agaist them.

...~...~...

"Achoo!"

"Bless you" Shino said quietly.

Kiba wiped his nose on his sleeve, "D'anks"

Hinata frowned at the dog-nin's action and handed him a tissue, "Kiba-kun, maybe you should go home and rest"

"'m p'ine" the man assured, waving off her concern, before sneezing again.

"Hinata is right, you should not be pushing yourself; it will only prolong the illness" the Aburame said.

"'m al'ry n'at 'ick n'u gn'ai! m p'ine!" Kiba grumbled at them, wiping his nose awkwardly. (Sick!Kiba to English: I'm really not sick you guys! I'm fine!)

Hinata looked at him worriedly, "W-what?"

"I believe he said he wishes to go to sleep" Shino said, pushing his glasses up his nose, as he moved towards their sick friend.

"a'd n'at!" the dog-nin exclaimed, shaking his head. (Sick!Kiba to English: I did not!)

"Shino-kun, I really don't think that's what he said" Hinata told the bug user.

"No, I am certain that is what he said," Shino said and grabbed the Inuzuka around the waist, before throwing him over his shoulder "He definitely wishes to go to sleep"

"'Oah!" Kiba yelled, before the bug user began carrying him off.

"S-Shino-kun" Hinata gasped, quickly rushing after him, trying her best not to giggle.

...

Kiba glared miserably at his teammates, as they worked together on tucking him into bed.

"l'ry?" he grumbled at Akamaru when the giant dog lay down on top of him, by request of Shino, to keep him from sneaking away.

"I will make you some soup" the Aburame announced and left the room, while Kiba stuck his tongue out at his friend's backside.

Hinata smiled as she opened the window a notch, "He's just worried Kiba-kun. So am I," she told him, "You hardly ever get sick, it's only natural for us to wish to help you"

Kiba rolled his eyes and pouted.

...

"'at t'ell 's at?!" Kiba cried, staring fearfully at the thick and chunky looking liquid, wondering what the hell kind of soup was supposed to be blue. (What the hell is that?!)

"U-um Shino-kun, w-what is that?" Hinata asked worriedly, eyeing the bowl with the same kind of apprehension Kiba felt.

"It is miso soup" the man answered simply, placing the tray on the table by Kiba's bed.

"W-what made it turn blue?" the Hyuuga asked carefully.

"I am not sure, I imagine it could be the mushrooms" Shino said thoughtfully before looking at Kiba, "Would you like me to help you eat?"

Kiba shook his head violently, making himself dizzy, "O 'ay!" (no way!)

"You must eat Kiba, otherwise you will not get better" the bug user told him, "I brought enough for all of us, so you won't have to eat alone"

Kiba and Hinata shared a look, both well aware that they would not be able to get out of this without hurting Shino's feelings.

...

Several hours later, Inuzuka Tsume returned home to a poisonous smell spreading through her house. She followed the scent to her son's room and carefully opened the door.

She wasn't sure what she had been expecting to find, but the three, very grown and very sick looking, teammates huddled together in Kiba's bed, and the nearly empty bowls of blue goo next to them, certainly wasn't it.

...~...~...

"Hinata-sama?" Neji called out to his cousin, "I am sorry for interrupting you while you are training but I have a request"

Hinata lowered her fists and smiled gently at the man, "It's fine, Neji-niisan. What do you need?"

"There is something I would like to show you" the pale-eyed man answered, "If you would?"

"Hai" Hinata followed her cousin, as he led her towards the residential buildings of the branch family.

They reached Neji's room and the man held the door open, ushering his cousin inside.

"W-what is this?" the dark-haired woman asked, blinking wide-eyed at the carefully stacked blankets and pillows in the middle of the room.

Neji smiled as he walked to the blanket fort and pulled the outer blanket away to reveal her teammates, hiding inside.

"Surprise!" the men cheered as one as Hinata gasped, surprised.

"Kiba-kun? Shino-kun? What are you- How?"

"Neji-san told us, how you have been training, without pause, for the past week" Shino told her as she and Neji crawled inside the pile of fabrics.

"I asked them to help me find a way to reward you, for all your hard work," Neji said, watching the woman as she settled down into the blankets.

"Thank you nii-san" Hinata said, giving her cousin a hug "Thank you Shino-kun, Kiba-kun. This is wonderful!"

"We are not done yet" Shino said quietly.

Kiba grinned widely and showed her a paper bag from her favourite bakery, "We brought cinnamon rolls" he said as Hinata's eyes sparkled with joy.

...

Hours later, the four young adults, lay huddled together beneath the ceiling of blankets, as they talked of everything and nothing.

Hinata smiled happily to herself, as she snuggled deeper into the blankets and listened to the guys talk. As Neji and Kiba began arguing lightly next to her, she thought of how lucky she was, to have these men in her life.

"Hinata-sama?" Neji asked alarmed, "Are you quite alright?"

"H-huh?" she blinked at her worried cousin.

"Hinata, you are crying" Shino told her, touching her shoulder.

"I am?" the woman touched her hands to her cheeks and felt the wetness there. She chuckled at herself and shook her head, "It's only because I'm happy" she assured her friends, "I'm really happy to have all of you in my life"

She smiled happily at the faces around her, "Thank you for always taking care of me"

"Heh, you're the one who's always taking care of us Hinata" Kiba said.

Shino nodded, "Without you, we would be lost"

"Which is why, we know, we must protect you whenever you cannot protect yourself" Neji smiled.

...

Next up: The Hero's Discovery

* * *

 _No Hyuuga's were harmed during the making of this chapter (unless you count their pride)_

* * *

Author's note: Thank you for reading and thank you for all the love and support!

Edit: I just realised, not only is it past midnight, it's also technically my birthday - meaning: I just turned 24 without noticing you guys, what the heck?

Edit 2: Thank you for all the sweet reviews & thank you for the birthday wishes as well~


	13. The Hero's Discovery

Author's note: Just a short note on this chapter; words written in _italic_ are lines either from the manga or this fic (basically, they are lines from Naruto's memories).

Oh and a tiny announcement; I've made a tumblr account for this fic, for headcanons and news and such. Also you're welcome to ask questions there, if you'd like, of me or the characters.  
The account is: 'oblivious-ninjas . tumblr .com', I'm still in the process of setting it up, but please check it out if you want.

Edit: I have now written the url in my profile, where you can mark it and right click to open the link~

* * *

...

The Hero's Discovery

...

.~.

 _"_ _Naruto-kun,"_ a soft voice spoke from his right.  
Naruto lifted his head and looked at the quiet girl next to him, with surprise, _"Oh, Hinata!"  
_ The dark haired girl smiled shyly at him, _"Let's do our best.."  
_ There was a warmth inside of him, as he smiled back at the girl and nodded. All of his worries slowly faded away, as he looked at the pale-eyed girl, while the sound of pen on paper filled the room.  
 _"_ _Naruto-kun.."_ the shy girl spoke again, looking at him kindly _, "you can look at my test if you want".  
_ Naruto looked down at the blank piece of paper in front of him, and scratched the back of his neck embarrassedly, "Hehe, I guess I got a little distracted," he grinned as the girl showed him her test.  
"You're so nice Hinata," Naruto smiled happily at the girl, "Thank you".

.~.

 _"_ _I.. I just wanted.. to change myself.."_ the girl spoke softly, but her words rang clear through the air.  
She was knocked down again and again, and every time she got back on her feet, with increasing determination.  
As Naruto cheered her on loudly, she was knocked down once more, but this time she didn't get up. Instead she looked at him, bloodied and beaten, with questioning eyes.  
 _"_ _Naruto-kun.. Was I able to change a little?"_ she asked.  
He jumped down next to her and took her hand in his, "Yeah" he said, smiling gently, "You've gotten really strong".  
 _"_ _It's thanks to you, Naruto-kun"_ the dark haired girl said quietly and closed her eyes _"Naruto-kun I.. don't want you to disappear"._

.~.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. His body was heavy and his head was filled with thoughts, as he rolled over and looked at his alarm clock, which showed 8:15.

As he got out of bed and started to get dressed, he wondered if it was normal, to feel so exhausted after a long night's sleep.

...

"CHAA!" Sakura yelled as she swung her fist at Naruto. The man didn't react and she, just barely, managed to stop herself, before her fist came into contact with the blond's face.

Naruto startled and blinked rapidly at the clenched fist in front of his nose, "h-huh?"

Sakura frowned deeply at him, "Tell me you didn't just _fall asleep_ on your feet, during _training_ ".

When Naruto grinned embarrassedly, she flicked his nose and sent him stumbling backwards into Sai.

"How are you already getting tired?" Sakura asked, crossing her arms, "Didn't you sleep last night?"

Naruto rubbed at his nose and yawned, "Ah.. I did, it's just that, lately I've been dreaming so much and it almost feels like I don't get any sleep," he said.

"Maybe your subconscious is trying to tell you something," Sai said, "I've read that subconscious messages often appear in dreams".

The pink haired girl nodded, "Do you remember what you've been dreaming of?" she asked.

Naruto sat down, heavily, on the ground, "Well, they're always really realistic, and Hinata's always in them, and we're doing all sorts of things like-"

"Never mind!" Sakura interrupted loudly, holding her hands up, "I don't want to know of your perverted dreams about poor Hinata!"

"Oh, I do," Sai said eagerly, taking out his notebook and a pen, "Please, continue".

"W-what!? No! It's nothing like that-ttebayo!" Naruto exclaimed outraged and embarrassed, "It's kinda like memories, I guess - it's nothing pervy, I swear- stop writing Sai!"

The pale man smiled innocently at the blonde, who glared back at him while Sakura sighed.

...

Later that day, the team sat together at Ichiraku Ramen and ate in silence.

After hearing Naruto talking about his dreams, Sakura had started to consider; that maybe the blond wasn't just too dense for his own good. Maybe the real problem was; that he didn't understand what love really was.

The woman studied her, usually loud, teammate as he ate his ramen. He had been very moody the first few days, after Sai and team 8 had returned from their mission, but now he just seemed exhausted. It was no wonder really, Sakura thought; Naruto's subconscious seemed to be working overtime, trying to make him realise his own feelings.

"You gonna eat that?" Naruto asked looking around her, to point at Sai's half-eaten bowl of ramen.

Sai shook his head and handed his bowl to Naruto, before going back to his sketching.

"Thanks," Naruto grinned, before scarfing down the leftovers.

"Ne Naruto, tell me something," Sakura said, catching the other's attention.

"Hm?" the blond inquired with his mouth full of noodles.

"What is the difference, between the love you have for your friends, and the love you have for ramen?" the pink haired girl asked.

Naruto frowned and swallowed his food, "Why are you asking me that?"

"Just answer the question," she huffed.

Naruto thought for a moment, "Well, I guess the difference is; the love I have for my friends, means I'd do anything to keep them happy.. I'd happily sacrifice myself, if it meant keeping them alive," he said sombrely. "And the love I have for ramen, means that I'll happily eat 15 bowls in one go, even if I'll get a stomach ache. I wouldn't give my life for a bowl of ramen, though, but I might be willing to sacrifice an arm for it," he looked down at his prosthetic arm and frowned, "well, maybe not my arm, but definitely my foot!" he grinned widely.

Sakura rolled her eyes and shook her head at the blond. At least, she was now certain that he understood love to some extent; the question was, how much did he understand?

"Alright, then tell me this; what is the difference, between the love you have for your friends, and romantic love?" the girl asked.

Naruto thought for a long moment, before he frowned and looked at the girl questioningly, "There's a difference?"

Sakura sighed; so this was the extent, huh?

She gave him a sympathetic smile and nodded, "There's a difference,"

"Well, what is it?" the blond asked curiously.

"I can't tell you that Naruto," she said, "It's something you have to figure out, on your own,"

...

Naruto threw himself onto his bed with a loud huff, thoughts still circling around Sakura's question. The difference between love and romantic love.. was it really that different, he wondered.

He scrunched up his face and thought hard about it.

Romantic love was something between married people right? Or between girlfriends and boyfriends or boyfriends and boyfriends or whatever.. but what was so special about those bonds?

Well, there was the kissing and the waaay too intimate touching, but really, that couldn't be what made the love in those relationships so different. He was certain of this, because of the countless times he had witnessed ero-sennin make out with pretty women, on their travels, and he _knew_ those women weren't ero-sennin's girlfriends.

Naruto sighed and rolled over to lie on his side. If it wasn't the physical actions, that made the bonds special, then what was it?

He looked at the medicine jar on his bedside table and pouted, "I bet Hinata would've helped me understand, instead of telling me to figure it out on my own, like Sakura-chan".

.~.

 _"_ _Even if I don't understand, I will always be willing to hear your worries, Naruto-kun,"_ Hinata said, smiling gently at him from her place between her teammates, Shino and Kiba.  
As Naruto stepped closer to the woman, the two men next to her moved away silently.  
"But I don't understand it myself," he told her, feeling an almost desperate need to tell her this, "I want to understand, but I don't know how,"  
"That's okay, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, as he held her warm hand in his own, _"Because you're not perfect.. Even if you fail, you always have the strength to get back up,"  
_ The dark haired woman smiled up at him and he felt his heart beat faster.  
 _"_ _I used to always cry and give up, but you showed me the right way.. because of you, I felt I was able to change,_ " she told him, "So, don't give up, but keep going forward, I know you will find the answer,"

.~.

When he awoke in the morning, he felt exhausted after yet another night full of dreams, but he also felt a strong sense of determination.

Hinata believed in him, well, the Hinata in his dreams did, and that was more than enough, to give him the willpower, to do his best to find the answer.

...

It had been a few days since Sakura had asked Naruto the question; what is the difference between love and romantic love? And Naruto had still not found the answer.

He had continued to dream of Hinata each night, and each night she had told him; Let's do our best, don't give up Naruto-kun.

It fuelled his determination and he had begun to focus solely on figuring out the answer.

He had thought hard, he had studied the people in the streets and he had sneaked peeks, at the women's magazines, in the store around the corner. But none of it had helped much.

He had even gone so far, as to look through ero-sennin's books, an old present from the man, which had been hidden in the back of his closet. All that helped him with was create very graphic pictures, of _very_ private situations, between himself and Hinata, which left him feeling ashamed and angry with himself. Hinata deserved better than that, she was much too sweet and gentle, to be thought of in such a way, Naruto felt.

...

It was afternoon, and Naruto strolled through the village, continuing his search for his answer, when his eyes were drawn to the woman from his dreams.

Beneath a tree, Hinata rested against her teammate Shino, while they both looked at a book the man was holding.

He hadn't seen Hinata in waking state for the past week, and now that he did, he felt almost nervous and slightly giddy.

The annoying itching began to make itself known, as he watched the two below the tree talk, but it was forced aside by a wave of warmth, which washed over him, when Hinata looked up and smiled at him.

"Good afternoon Naruto-kun," Hinata smiled warmly.

Naruto swallowed and felt his heart beat a little faster, "Hey," he smiled back.

Before he had the chance to think of anything else to say, a great white dog rushed past him, while its owner yelled from somewhere behind him, "Dammit Akamaru!"

The dog sat down next to Hinata, wagging its tail wildly back and forth and dropped something in the woman's lap.

"Hinata, don't take it, he'll just keep bringing them if you do," Kiba told her, coming to a stop next to Naruto.

They watched as Hinata picked up the, slightly wet and mangled, flower from her lap, and smiled happily. "It's fine Kiba-kun, I don't mind," she said and reached out to stroke the great dog's head, "Thank you, Akamaru-kun, I love it".

Kiba sighed heavily and threw himself down next to Shino, while Naruto stayed frozen to the spot.

 _I love it_ , Hinata's voice echoed in his head, and then, the words suddenly changed; _Because, I love you.._

Naruto turned on his heel and ran away, to the sound of Hinata's worried voice calling after him, "N-Naruto-kun?"

...

Naruto entered his bedroom and gripped the jar, from his table, in his hands, as memories flew through his mind;

 _'_ _I won't let you lay another finger on Naruto!'_

 _'_ _I was always chasing you.. I just wanted to walk with you.. I wanted to be with you..'_

 _'If you hurt her in any way, you'll wish you were dead'_

 _'_ _I don't want you to disappear from here'_

 _'_ _Hinata-sama is willing to die for you'_

 _'_ _I'm not afraid to die protecting you!'_

 _'_ _You changed me! Your smile saved me!'_

 _'_ _You don't need to act tough just because Hinata is here!'_

 _'_ _Let's stand up together Naruto-kun, always going ahead and not going back on one's words. That is also my ninja way'_

 _'_ _Because I love you!'_

Naruto had started hyperventilating, and he clenched the jar to his chest.

His head hurt, his heart hurt, his whole body was shaking and yet, he couldn't stop smiling.

It suddenly seemed so clear to him, what all these feelings inside of him meant.

He hadn't understood; that there was a difference, between the love for your friends and family, and romantic love. He hadn't understood why he felt so strange around Hinata, why his skin was prickling, why his body filled with warmth around her, why he dreamt of her every night.

But now, he realised; the difference between love and romantic love, it was all the feelings he had towards Hinata, wasn't it?

How he felt happy and warm when he was with her, how he felt sad and empty when she wasn't near. How her smile could brighten up his world, her giggles could make him feel giddy, and when her attention was on anyone but him, he would feel lonely.

He didn't love her like he did his other friends, it was different, it was more. He wanted to be near her, to be the one to hold her and touch her, to be the one always walking by her side. He wanted to be _with_ her.

...

Next Up:

Bonus Chapter: Reverse Oiroke no Jutsu

* * *

Author's Note: Urgh, those last lines were cheesy weren't they?  
Thank you for reading and I'm sorry for the wait, I hope the chapter was, at least a little bit, worth the wait~


	14. Bonus: Reverse Oiroke no Jutsu

Author's note: Thank you everyone for your support on this story! All your comments, faves and follows makes me feel so warm & fuzzy inside!

I am so sorry about the delay, life has been hectic for me and I have been so tired, that I've been falling asleep at the most random of times lately. Because of this, it's been really difficult to write this chapter, but I hope I got through it all right and I hope you will enjoy it!

* * *

...

Bonus: Reverse Oiroke no Jutsu

...

"Hey, so, I just got the greatest idea ever!" Kiba proclaimed loudly from his spot next to Shino.

"Which is?" the bug user asked quietly.

"How to fix the problem we're having with all these creeps around Hinata!" Kiba said eagerly, "You know Naruto's oiroke no jutsu? I was thinking; Hinata could do something like that!"

"E-eh?!" Hinata gasped surprised, looking at Kiba with wide eyes, as her face flushed pink.

"Kiba, that will have the exact opposite effect, of what we want. Why?" Shino said disapprovingly, "Because-"

"No, no, hear me out!" Kiba said quickly, "She'll do the reverse! Instead of changing into a barely dressed girl, she'll change into a fully clothed guy!"

Shino frowned at the dog-nin momentarily, before he turned his head to study the woman across from them. "Hm.. It is possible, that it could work," he said quietly a moment later.

"Right?!" Kiba grinned at the other man, before he turned to the pale-eyed woman as well, "What do you say Hinata?"

"Is it really necessary?" Hinata asked, looking towards her teammates, face still slightly pink.

The Inzuka shrugged his shoulders, "Would you at least try it out?" he asked, giving her his best puppy-face "Please? For us?"

"I-I guess I could try it," Hinata said, giving in to the well-known puppy eyes, and smiled softly when the dog-nin cheered.

The dark haired woman focused her chakra and went through the proper hand signs, before she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

As the smoke cleared, Hinata opened her eyes slowly and looked down at herself. Her sizeable chest was gone, as were the rest of her curves, leaving a flat chest and straight angles.

It felt odd to look down at what she knew, was her own body, but which looked and felt so different from normal. She couldn't help but giggle at the strangeness of it all.

"Shit," Kiba grumbled, making her look up at her friends again, "This isn't going to work."

"I did it wrong?" Hinata asked worriedly, looking down at herself again.

"You did it correctly," Shino spoke softly, "It is simply-"

"You sound too freaking cute!" Kiba interrupted with a whine, "You're a man now! You can't go around giggling like that- all the girls will think you're too adorable, and we'll be having the same problem, we were trying to avoid!"

"Kiba, I believe you are overreacting. Why?" the bug user broke in, "Because the larger part of Konoha's female population, are attracted to men such as Sasuke and Sai. Therefore it is unlikely, that they will all fall in love with Hinata, just for the fact that she is cute."

Hinata watched her friends with furrowed brows and a small, but affectionate, smile on her lips.

She still didn't quite understand; why they kept thinking people were attracted to her, or where they had even gotten the idea from, in the first place - it still seemed silly to her. But she couldn't deny that her team members' acts of protectiveness were very sweet, and at times rather amusing - like now.

"We should at the least test it out, before we make the conclusion; that this was a failed attempt," Shino told the dog-nin patiently.

Kiba frowned, but nodded his head. "Alright, let's test it," he relented, and added "Just try not to giggle Hinata!"

Hinata smiled, "I'll do my best Kiba-kun."

...

Team 8, with a disguised Hinata, had been walking through the streets of Konoha for a few hours. They had seen several of Hinata's admirers and met a handful of their friends, but so far, no one seemed to have recognised Hinata.

As the byakugan was a very distinguishable feature, the team had agreed; that Hinata would be introduced to their friends, as a relative of hers, who'd been living in the Land of Lightning. As it was supposedly 'his' first time back in Konoha, since childhood, Kiba and Shino had offered 'him' a tour of the village, as a favour to Hinata.

The jutsu and the story had been working brilliantly, and Kiba was about ready to declare the 'male Hinata'-solution a success, when Naruto appeared.

...

"Yo, you guys!" the blond greeted happily, and before anyone had a chance to speak, he turned towards the disguised Hinata and grinned, "Hey Hinata, you look cute as a boy-ttebayo!"

"E-excuse me?" Hinata said confusedly, doing her best to stay in character and not get too flustered.

"What are you talking about idiot?! That's not Hinata!" Kiba spluttered irritably at the blond.

Naruto frowned deeply at the dog-nin, "What do you mean? Of course it is!" he said, before turning back to Hinata with a big smile, "Right Hinata? I'd recognise you anywhere!"

"E-eh?" Hinata's eyes widened and her cheeks began to heat up, at the blond's words.

"What the h-" Kiba began angrily, only to be interrupted by the Aburame.

"You say that you'd recognise her anywhere, even as a boy," Shino said, "yet you could not recognize me on your return to the village, even though I looked exactly the same,"

The Inuzuka rolled his eyes and dragged his hands over his face, "Jeez Shino, not this again."

"That's totally different! How was I supposed to recognise you, when I couldn't even see your face?! Besides, you're not Hinata, so of course I wouldn't recognise you anywhere-ttebayo!"

"Wait, what?" Kiba said, while Shino furrowed his brows. Had Naruto just said; that he would only recognise _Hinata_ anywhere?

"You do look different though- like the way you're walking. It's like you've got a lot of weight off of your shoulders," Naruto commented, looking over Hinata's male form again.

"But I guess, normally, your breasts must be really heavy, so it makes sense; that you'd feel much lighter like this, right?" the blond grinned, not yet realising, what had just slipped past his lips.

Hinata gave a small squeak, as the colour on her cheeks darkened. Despite the current flatness of her chest, Hinata moved her arms to cover it on reflex. Naruto had noticed her breasts, and he thought they looked heavy!? Maybe he thought they were too big! Or maybe he thought they were weird!

"What did you just say?!" Kiba growled dangerously at the blond.

"I said; your breast must.. be.. really.." Naruto's eyes widened suddenly and his face turned bright red, as he finally realised, what he'd said. Naruto had just talked about Hinata's breasts. Out loud. To Hinata. In front of Kiba and Shino. Oh crap!

"W-wait- I'm sorry! I mean- I didn't mean-" the blond squawked, face filled with panic, "I have to go-ttebayo!"

"What the heck?" Kiba muttered, as they watched the orange-clad man rush off down the street.

...

"Okay, that was a bad plan," Kiba declared later, when he and Shino were alone.

"Agreed," Shino said, "We need to come up with something different to protect her."

"And now we know; we need to keep a closer eye on the idiot, as well," the dog-nin added.

...

* * *

A/N: I haven't come up with a title for the next chapter yet, which is why there's no "next up" here at the end, but don't worry; there is another chapter coming (at least 6 more actually). Thank you for reading~


	15. Bonus: Green Thumbs and Trouble

Author's Note: Today is the 3 month anniversary for this fic & I can honestly say that 3 months ago, I did not in any way expect, that this fic would recieve so much positive attention.

I'll admit; it does make me slightly anxious, to know that so many people are following my story - but most of all, it makes me really happy. Whenever this fic recieves a new review, a new fave or a new follower, I can't help but smile. Thank you everyone for enjoying my fic and for making me smile! I hope you will all continue to enjoy it!

* * *

...

Bonus: Green Thumbs and Trouble

...

It was a warm and sunny day, with a calm breeze flowing through the leaves in the trees; a perfect day to be spending outside, and Team 8 were doing just that.

At the Hyuuga compound, Hinata had spent many years, taking care of one of the smaller garden areas.

While the rest of the gardens in the grounds, were the perfect example of simplistic elegance, presented in greens and whites, Hinata's garden was a place of colour and warmth. After years of hard work and care, her garden was now an area filled with plants of different kinds, flowers in all the colours of the rainbow, medicinal herbs and even a few fruits and vegetables.

Taking care of the garden on her own, was something Hinata took pride in, but she was always happy, when her teammates asked to join her, as they had today.

While Hinata was busy trimming her beloved rosebushes, humming softly under her breath, as she did so, Shino was walking around the flower beds, carrying a spray bottle in one hand. Every once in a while, the bug user would stop up and use the spray bottle to release a generous amount of water, over the flowers which needed it.

Meanwhile, Kiba and Akamaru were taking care of all the weeds, hiding amongst the flowers - and they were having a lot of fun doing so. Together, they dug through the ground and ripped up the weeds, roots and all, getting their clothes and fur covered in dirt, before they chucked the weeds behind themselves - no care for where they landed.

Shino, just so happened to be in the perfect position, to get hit by the flying weeds, coming from Kiba.

Every. Single. One of them.

"Kiba, please watch where you throw those. Why?" Shino spoke, calm as ever, after a while, "Because they keep landing on me and I do not appreciate that."

"Whoops, sorry man," Kiba said and threw a grin over his shoulder, "I'll be more careful!"

Shino gave an appreciative nod and went back to watering the flowers, as Kiba started on the weeds again.

It didn't take long though, before the silent Aburame felt something hit his backside, once again.

Shino glanced back at Kiba, who seemed completely focused on his task. With a small huff, the Aburame pushed his glasses further up his nose and went back to his own task.

Moments later, another weed hit the back of his head.

"Kiba, please pay attention to your surroundings," the bug user said, with a hint of annoyance.

"My bad!" Kiba called over his shoulder, without turning around. Shino heard the silent laugh in the dog-nin's voice, as clearly as if it had rung out loud, and the realization hit him; Kiba was not hitting him by accident - it was intentional.

With a frown, the silent man decided to move further away from the dog-nin, and hopefully out of his reach.

Shino was able to water the flowers in peace, only for a short while, before it happened again; a lump of weeds thudded against his back.

This time, his shinobi-trained mind had been aware of the enemy lurking behind him, and his body reacted on instinct. His arm moved back, aided by his well-trained reflexes, and a jet of water was sent straight at the back of Kiba's head.

Kiba looked up and around, confused, before he shook his head like a dog, sending water droplets flying. The man then frowned and glanced back at Shino, whose full attention seemed to be on watering the flowers. Kiba momentarily wrinkled his nose in confusion, before he went back to work.

The third time a jet of water hit him, moments after he'd sent a lump of weeds flying, he knew it; the water was definitely coming from Shino.

The dog-nin jumped up and turned to the bug user with an outraged "Oy!"

"What?" Shino asked, voice calm and quiet, as he turned to look at the other.

"Stop spraying water on me man!" Kiba cried accusingly.

"I will comply with your request only if you stop throwing weeds at me," Shino shot back.

"I'll give you weeds!" the dog-nin exclaimed before he pounced on the Aburame, sending them both falling to the ground.

Neither of the men noticed that the great white nin dog, had stalked away from them and gone in search of Hinata.

Akamaru knew where this was going and, having already had one bath this week, he did not feel the need to join a game, which would result in the need of another bath. It would be fun, to join his master and Shino in their game, but just the thought of those soapy bubbles, tickling his nose 'till he sneezed, was enough to make him want to run and hide.

...

Shino and Kiba were rolling around on the grass, laughing, as they fought each other, armed with water and dirt.

"Kiba-kun! Shino-kun!" Hinata's shocked voice reached them, instantly making them both freeze, "What are you doing!?"

"We were just.. taking a break?" Kiba tried innocently, though the handful of dirt he held against Shino's cheek, ruined the innocent act, just a bit.

Shino, who'd had his spray bottle aimed at the dog-nin's face, slowly sat himself up and did his best to look as composed, as was possible for a grown man, covered in mud.

Hinata had her hands on her hips, as she looked down on her boys with her lips in a stern line, though her eyes were sparkling. "You two are cleaning up this mess by yourselves," she informed them, indicating her previously well-groomed garden, which was now covered in lumps of weed and dirt, as well as little mud puddles.

"Of course Hinata," Shino spoke calmly as he slowly got up from the ground.

"We just gotta do one thing first though," Kiba continued, standing up as well and following the Aburame.

"E-eh?" Hinata looked at them questioningly, when they both moved towards her. She realised their intentions a second too late.

The pale eyed girl gave a surprised squeak, as she was wrapped in the arms of both her teammates. Her dirty, wet, mud covered teammates. Hinata giggled and struggled in their arms, as they helped each other cover her in dirt.

"We gotta make sure you don't feel left out, right?" Kiba said, laughing as he held her, while Shino drew little butterflies on her face with mud.

Hinata rolled her eyes at them, but couldn't stop the wide smile on her lips, as she relished in the warm feeling, brought on by her teammates' carefree playfulness.

...

* * *

 **~Announcement~**  
Once again, to show my appreciation for all of my readers, I am planning a special Thank You chapter!  
Once (if) this fic reaches 200 follows and 130 faves, I will be writing and posting this special chapter!

Thank you for reading!

..also check out 'oblivious-ninjas' on tumblr for more silliness and headcanons!


	16. Thank You: Little Monsters - Part I

Author's Note: Here is my promised Thank You chapter, to show my appreciation for all of your support, for the now more than 200 followers and 130 favourites! It means the world to me (even if I can't quite figure out where all you new followers keep coming from)

* * *

Chapter Warning: Contains mentions of child abuse.

Chapter Note: This takes place not long after Hanabi was born, so the kids are around 5-6 years old.

* * *

...

Thank You: Little Monsters & the Path of Destiny - part I

...

Large pale eyes watched in fright, as a boy, with blond hair and whisker-like markings on his cheeks, was pushed to the ground by an angry adult.

A crowd was gathering, as the boy shielded his face, from the grown-up's large fist, which came hurtling at him.

Hinata whimpered and clung to her caretaker's hand, "W-why? W-why is he hurting h-him?!" she asked terrified.

When her caretaker didn't answer, she looked up with teary eyes. "Why is n-nobody h-helping him?" she asked, voice shaking, as she tugged on her carer's hand, "Help him! P-please!"

Her caretaker ignored her plea, with a troubled mind, and began to lead the dark haired girl away from the crowd and the beating of the boy.

"Do not worry about that child, Hinata" he told her, as she looked back towards the boy, "He is not worth your concern,"

"B-but why? Who is he?" Hinata asked, as she lost sight of the boy and the scene they had left behind.

"He is of no importance to you, Hinata, and you should be sure to keep your distance from him," her carer told her.

The girl turned her tear filled eyes to the ground and whispered sadly, "I don't understand"

"The child's destiny lies in the shadow of a monster. The path laid before him, is the one you witnessed. There is nothing you can do, Hinata"

Hinata wanted to disagree. She wanted to say; if the boy's destiny lay in any form of shadow, then it must be the evil shadow created by the people who were hurting him. But she kept quiet, as she knew; destiny was not something to disagree with.

Her cousin Neji had once told her; the path which destiny laid before you at birth, was not one to stray from, but one to embrace.

But for destiny, to lay such a path before a child seemed unfathomable to Hinata and she wished to know more about the boy. She wished to understand why destiny had made this choice, why destiny had forced this boy into the shadow of people's evil intent.

...

In the evening, Hinata sat quietly at the dinner table, so lost in thought that she barely touched her food, which did not go unnoticed by her cousin.

"Hinata-sama, are you well?" Neji spoke quietly from her side.

The girl blinked her large eyes and focused on the older boy, "Yes nii-san" she answered, before her mind began to wander again.

"Hinata-sama, your father will notice if you do not eat and there will not be dessert" Neji said, trying to lure her back to reality again.

"Father," Hinata repeated softly and suddenly realised that her father would surely know of the blond boy, he would surely be able to explain to her what the reasons were behind destiny's decision!

"Father?" Hinata repeated, a little louder as she looked towards the man.

"Yes?" Hiashi answered, turning his stoic gaze to his oldest daughter.

"Who is he?" Hinata asked him, while her cousin watched her curiously.

"Excuse me?" her father asked, raising a questioning brow.

"The boy with the whiskers?" his daughter asked gently, "Who is he, father?"

Hiashi's eyes turned cold in an instant and his lips formed a tight line, "Never mind that" he told her briskly.

"B-but I would like to know" Hinata said, eyes widening.

"That is not for you to care about knowing" Hiashi said sternly, "Don't ask questions"

"B-but-" the girl tried, lip quivering as she watched her father's expression turn to anger.

"Enough!" her father said, slamming his hand on the table, "Neji, help your cousin to her room!" he ordered.

"Yes Uncle!" Neji rose from his seat immediately and turned to help his cousin down from her chair, "Come Hinata-sama" he said gently.

...

"Neji-nii-san," Hinata said quietly, as the two cousins walked through the house, hand in hand, to her room.

"Yes, Hinata-sama?" Neji replied gently.

"Father has changed.. has he not?" the girl asked, voice getting more quiet with every word, "After Mother, h-he.. he's not the same".

The older boy paused for a moment and took a deep breath, "My father told me, sometimes sorrow can make people change" he told her.

A soft sniffle came from the girl and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze, "It will get better Hinata-sama, I'm sure of it" he assured her, "It will get better".

...

Over the following days, Hinata refrained from asking any more questions, about the blond boy and about what had happened in town.

This lasted until the week after, where Hinata was once again witness to the villagers' abuse of the boy.

This time, her carer had not been able to silence her questions and, reluctantly, he led her to the head of the main family, where the girl turned her desperate and questioning eyes to her father.

"Hinata, you must stop these ridiculous questions," the man said, looking down on his daughter with a deep frown.

"B-but why do they hurt him?" the girl asked again, "Who i-is he?"

"Hinata!" her father warned.

"W-why do they call him a d-demon?"

Hiashi raised his voice, "Hinata be quiet!"

"Why is he a m-monster? P-please-"

"Keep your mouth shut child!" the sound of skin hitting skin rung through the room, and the pale eyed girl silenced immediately.

For a moment, Hinata stood frozen to the floor, eyes wide and scared, before she began closing in on herself. The girl seemed to become smaller in her place, head tilting down, as her shoulders curved forwards and her arms rose in front of her chest protectively.

"Leave" her father's voice made her jump slightly and without looking up, Hinata left the room quickly. The moment she stepped outside, large tears fell from her eye and slowly made their way down across her burning cheek.

...

Hinata didn't ask any more questions after that day; in fact she barely spoke at all anymore. The only time she spoke, during the following weeks, was when she was with her older cousin Neji.

Hinata kept her questions, her fears and her pain to herself, slowly bottling everything up inside. At night, hidden away from prying eyes, she cried to herself. She imagined that her mother came to her, with her warm smile and gentle hands, bringing comfort and answers; promises of a better tomorrow, for both Hinata and the blond boy.

...

Next Up:

Thank You: Little Monsters & the Path of Destiny - part II


	17. Thank You: Little Monsters - Part II

...

Thank You: Little Monsters & the Path of Destiny - part II

...

Naruto had one foot planted on the ground, using it to move himself slowly back and forth on the swing.

He was in one of the lesser used playgrounds, near the edge of the village. A place were grownups usually didn't let their kids play, which meant Naruto didn't have to endure the laughter of other kids, as they played around together, or their parents' judgemental words and glares, when they noticed him around.

Here, he was allowed to sit on the swings and ride down the slide, whenever he wanted.

Here, he rarely ever had to endure the painful sounds of happy families.

While the smaller children were usually kept away from the place, older kids sometimes used the place to hang out, away from the prying eyes of parents and other adults.

If Naruto was lucky, which did happen occasionally, and made sure to keep his head down, the older kids would ignore his presence and leave him to sit on the swing in peace, while they chatted away on the other side of the grounds.

If Naruto was unlucky, which happened more often than just occasionally, keeping his head down, was not enough to make the older kids leave him alone.

The sound of leaves crunching under shoes, reached the boy's ears, and he instinctively hunched his shoulders and tilted his head forward, turning his eyes to the ground.

As the blond boy kept his eyes locked on the leaves beneath his feet, the sound of steps became louder, as did the sound of voices, joking back and forth.

"Hey look!" one of the voices suddenly exclaimed and the newcomers halted their steps, "It's the Demon-kid!"

Naruto tried to make himself as small as he could, and ignored the other children, as they called out to him, hoping they would eventually get bored and leave.

"What are you doing here Demon-kid!"

"Nobody wants you here Demon-boy! Old man Hokage should just throw you out of the village!"

"Oy, Demon-kid! Are you ignoring us!"

Naruto closed his eyes and tried to imagine that the others weren't there. He knew that answering would only make everything much worse, much faster, than if he kept quiet.

"L-leave him alone!" a timid voice broke through the taunts.

The three older boys, who'd been calling out to Naruto, all became quiet, as they turned their eyes to the small girl, who'd interrupted them.

"Y-you're w-wrong! H-he's not a-a demon!" the pale-eyed girl continued, voice shaky, but determined, as she looked up at the older boys.

Wide eyed, Naruto finally looked up from the ground to stare at the ebony haired girl, who seemed incredibly small, compared to the bullies she was confronting, on his behalf.

"Ew look at her eyes! So creepy!" one of the boys yelled, drawing back suddenly, as if in disgust.

"She's got dead eyes!" the other cried, pointing a finger at the girl accusingly.

Naruto watched as the girl's pale eyes widened at their words, before she turned her face towards the ground, in an attempt to hide her eyes from them.

"It's that freakish Byakugan! She's the Byakugan monster!" the third boy yelled.

"Byakugan monster!" they all jeered and the girl started to shrink before them.

The bravery Hinata had felt, when she was trying to help the blond boy, seemed to have disappeared the moment she became the target of the bullies and now she didn't know what to do.

"Leave her alone-ttebayo!" Naruto yelled, as he ran to stand in front of the girl, throwing his arms out protectively.

"Huh? You wanna fight us Demon-kid!?" the biggest of the three laughed spitefully and grabbed the collar of Naruto's shirt.

"Yeah I'm gonna fight you, ya big meanies! You're not supposed to pick on girls! You fart-face dattebayo!" the blond boy yelled bravely.

"What did you call me?!" the older boy held Naruto firmly by the collar and swung his fist towards him, only to be stopped by a pair of pale hands.

"S-stop! L-Leave him alone!" Hinata cried out, her bravery back for the moment, as she pulled back on the bully's arm with surprising strength.

"Get her off me!" the boy yelled at his friends and they both came to his aid, grabbing a firm hold on the girl and pulled her off of their friend.

While Naruto growled and kicked his legs at the guy holding him, Hinata struggled and tried to get free from the others' hold. Biting her lip, the girl clenched her eyes tight, before she swung a hand at each of the boys holding her, hitting them both with an attempted Gentle fist.

It was the first time she had ever tried it outside of training with her father, and it worked.

Well, partly.

The boy on her right, immediately loosened his grip on her and bent over, holding his hands to his stomach in shock, while the boy on her left only looked down confusedly.

Naruto was now sporting a bruised eye and a bloody nose, but he was still struggling with all of his might against the biggest of the boys, punching and kicking wildly.

"Oompf" the older boy suddenly dropped Naruto to the ground and doubled over in pain, as the blond managed to land a proper kick to the older boy's groin.

"You little shit!" he yelled.

The boy still holding onto the dark haired girl gasped and froze "Dude!"

"What!?"

"You said a bad word!"

"So?!"

"Your mum's gonna kill you dude!"

While the older kids were distracted, Naruto scrambled off of the ground and grabbed the girl by her sleeve, pulling her from the bully's hands, before they set off together in a run.

...

Without looking back, the Demon kid and the Byakugan monster ran as fast and as far as they could.

The two didn't stop for anything, until the blond tripped and fell to the ground, with a heavy thud.

"Ouch" Naruto grumbled, rubbing his hands over the fresh scrapes on his legs.

Now that they were far away from immediate danger, Naruto began to realise just how much pain he was in, after the fight; how his stomach hurt, his eye was swelling and how his nose was throbbing.

He huffed and rubbed at his bloody nose with his sleeve, winching at the spark in pain this caused.

"A-are you okay?" the girl's timid voice startled him and Naruto looked up to see a pale hand held out towards him.

After a moment's hesitation, the boy took the soft hand in his and allowed the girl to help him up.

The pale hand felt warm and gentle against his, and he felt an ache in his chest, at the thought of releasing the hand again, but he knew he wouldn't be allowed to hold on much longer.

He was the Demon-kid after all.

The dark haired girl didn't release his hand though; instead she seemed to hold on tighter once he was standing firmly on the ground again.

It made warmth flare through Naruto.

"I-I'm sorry, I made it worse" she said softly, after a while and after a moment, Naruto realised, she was talking about what happened at the playground.

"Nah, I'm used to it-ttebayo" he brushed her off, not used to anyone apologizing to him.

"I'm sorry" the girl's voice became even softer as she hung her head.

Naruto swallowed heavily, hearing everything unsaid behind those words.

This girl, who had nothing to do with him, who didn't have any reason to help him or care about him, this girl, who was a complete stranger, was apologizing to him, for everything he had endured to this point.

He didn't understand why anyone would ever apologize to him, especially for something they had nothing to do with. But for some reason, this girl did just that and somehow, Naruto felt like everything was going to be alright.

"Don't worry, it'll get better someday," he told her once he finally found his voice again, "I know it-ttebayo!"

"How do you know?" she asked curiously, finally locking her pale gaze with his bright blue eyes.

"Cause.. today someone stood up for me.. No one's ever done that before" Naruto said seriously, holding her gaze, "That's why, because of you, I know it's definitely going to get better-dattebayo!"

The blond smiled brightly at her and Hinata felt as though the sun itself was smiling at her. She wondered how a boy, who'd been through so much, who had been destined to walk a path in the shadows, could smile so brilliantly.

Hinata thought; even if it was true, that the path of destiny, was not one you could stray from on your own, maybe there was still a chance that the path could be rewritten. Maybe, the path which destiny had laid could be changed, if someone else was there to help.

This thought started a new flame of hope inside of her, and she made a silent promise to do her best, to aid this boy on his path in the future.

"Hey, y'know, I really like your eyes.." Naruto said after a while, startling the girl back to reality.

"R-really?" she asked, pale eyes widening in surprise, as pink dusted her cheeks.

"Yeah!" the boy nodded eagerly, as he grinned widely, "they look super pretty, like pearls or like..like rice noodles!"

"E-eh?" Hinata blinked for a moment before she began to giggle softly.

"I-I like your w-whisker markings" she said shyly, once her giggles had quietened.

"Really? Ehehe thanks" Naruto's cheeks flushed happily and his smile widened further.

The soft and warm hand still holding on to his and the large pale eyes looking up at him, with nothing but kindness, made him feel like he finally understood what it must be like to have a family.

It was warm and comforting.

...

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you for reading and thank you again for all your support everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you will continue to enjoy my story in the furture~


	18. Announcement 1 & 2

**Announcement posted March 28th 2016:**

* * *

On 10-02-2016, I brought the following news:  
 _I have gotten a rather bad concussion, and after almost two weeks of not taking proper care of myself, I finally went to the doctor and ended up at the hospital for scans of my head - cause apparently my symptoms were very serious, whoops, well done me - and was sent home again with very strict instructions that I am to rest for at least 2 weeks, no school, no tv, no reading, no computer, just rest._  
 _That also means no writing fics, so unfortunately, I'm going to keep you all waiting yet again. I'm very sorry about this, but I hope you will stick around for the rest of the fic._

 _Take care and thank you for your support!_

* * *

I'm now making the announcement, that Oblivious will be put on hold, that is to say on hiatus, until summer.

It's taken me a while to make this decision, I know, but that is because I really didn't want to, but I can now see that it's necessary for me.

* * *

Sadly, my concussion isn't gone, it's gotten better, but I'm still very sick and having trouble doing a lot of things, like sitting on the computer for longer periods of time and reading and so on.

As I am a student, it's clear how this would be a problem for me, when it comes to school in general, but the thing is; I have recently been warned, that I may be unable to take my exams this summer, because of how sick I am.

I've been dreaming of, and striving after, getting into uni at the start of next year, but for that to happen, and for my application to even be accepted, I have to get my exams this summer.

Because of this, I need to focus on getting better and getting as ready as I can for the exams in a few months.

* * *

I'm very sorry to keep you all waiting again!

I'm still running the blog oblivious-ninjas on tumblr and posting every once in awhile.

I have also recently started an ask blog for Team 8, as a way for me to stay in the characters mindset and to fullfill some of my writing needs. The blog is askteam8 on tumblr, if you'd like to check it out.

Anyway, thank you for the support, the faves, the follows and the reviews. I hope you'll continue to read once I get back again.

* * *

 **Announcement posted August 28th 2016:**

* * *

Once again, I'm sorry to say that this is not an actual story update, but yet another announcement.. or a life update maybe?

First off, I just want to say thank you, to everyone, for the kindness and concern after my last announcement! And thank you for following, sticking around and everything, you guys are really & truly amazing~!

Now, I promised the story would be back for summer, and August _is_ still a summer month, so I do have a couple of days left, but this was not what I had originally intended.

As you guys know, I had a bad concussion, and this, as well as the fact that I needed to do well on my exams, were the original reasons for the hiatus. I planned to take a few weeks to rest, after my exams, and then I was sure I would be ready to start a "normal" daily life again - including, writing fanfics.

But, things didn't go quite as planned.

To sum it up: after exams & few weeks of rest, I continued to be really sick - after awhile (longer than I wish to admit) I figured out that it wasn't the concussion - found the actual causes - got the proper treatment - got better - family issues started - sprained wrist & ankle, due to someone dropping a table on me (yes, it was as ridiculous as it sounds) - heatwave happened - I was in a minor car accident - and then school started up again.

So, the bad news, which you already know, was no update for the summer.

The good news are, my exams went great, I got accepted to the university I applied to (starting in Feb 2017) and I have finally gotten the next chapter "drafted" out, so now I just need to fill out the blanks, clean it up and proofread it.

I'm expecting to have it ready within the next weeks, so I hope you will continue to have patience with me and look forward to the update!


	19. Obliviously Obvious

Author's note: First off, thank you again for all the support, the wonderful and kind comments, the congratulations and the concern~ you guys are all so sweet & amazing!

Second off, no announcement chapter this time! It's finally an actual new chapter - yay me! It took a while, both cause I've been busy with birthday celebrations and stuff & also because I uploaded the chapter to the doc manager and then.. kind of forgot to.. actually add the chapter to the story.. *cough*

Anyways, thank you again for everything and I hope you'll enjoy the (long awaited) chapter~

* * *

...

Obliviously Obvious

...

"Yoo, Sakura-chaaan, Sai" Naruto greeted his teammates cheerfully, when they entered the ramen stand.

Sakura's brows rose slightly in surprise, at the energetic greeting, before she and Sai greeted the blond in return and joined him at his table. Up close, Sakura could see a hint of puffiness and dark red patches around Naruto's eyes, as if he hadn't been getting much sleep for days. Despite this, the brilliantly blue orbs were as clear as ever and sparkling with a joy, which had been absent for the past few weeks.

"You seem to be in a good mood today" she commented with a smile, glad to finally see some of her friend's old cheerfulness again.

"Hai~" Naruto grinned, before digging his chopsticks into his bowl of ramen and stuffing his face.

"Something good happen?" the pink haired woman asked curiously.

"Mmhm" Naruto hummed happily, with his mouth full of noodles.

"Well?" Sakura asked expectantly, tilting her head to the side, but Naruto only shrugged his shoulders with a secretive smile.

"Did your penis finally grow?" Sai asked cheerfully.

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose and let her eyes roll into the back of her head.

"Stop talking about my penis!" Naruto barked.

"Ah, that's a 'no' then" the pale man concluded, tilting his head and smiling innocently.

"Shut up-ttebayo!" the blond spluttered angrily.

"Shut up both of you!" Sakura shouted, hands slamming onto the table with enough force to make the wood creak warningly.

Naruto closed his mouth quickly and eyed the table worriedly, as he lifted his ramen bowl from it, just in case.

"Did you have ramen for breakfast?" Sai asked after few minutes of, slightly awkward, silence.

Naruto looked up from his ramen, which he still kept off of the table, "Huh? Well yeah," he said and shook his head "but that's not it"

"Then, did you have another dream of Hinata-san?" the dark haired man asked, after a moment of thought.

The blond blinked before he looked down at his food again, "No, I didn't" he said softly.

"Did you finally realise your feelings for Hinata-san?" Sai asked calmly.

"Eh?" Naruto looked up wide-eyed.

"Sai!" Sakura hissed in warning, but Sai only smiled.

"How did you know?"

"Eh?!" Sakura's eyes widened at those words and she turned to stare at Naruto.

"How did you know?" the blond asked again, frowning slightly at his pale friend.

"Normally, whenever Hinata-san is mentioned, your eyes will fill with different emotions, most clearly; confusion and pain." Sai said, "Just now, when I mentioned Hinata-san, your eyes were calm and almost hopeful. It is clear that a conflict concerning you feelings towards Hinata-san, has been settled within you,"

"H-huh" the blond said, face scrunching up, as he got lost in thought for a moment.

"Naruto, did you really figure it out?" Sakura asked, tone surprised and slightly incredulous.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Naruto pouted, before he frowned "and why are talking like you guys already knew?"

"Because we did. It was very hard not to notice after all" Sai said matter-of-factly.

The blond's eyes widened at that, "W-what? Was it really that obvious-ttebayo?"

"Oh, yes, everybody noticed" the dark haired man smiled.

"E-everybody?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Not everybody" Sakura said quickly, "but, it would probably take less time to count those who didn't notice, than it would to count those who did"

"Wait but, e-even Hinata?" the blond asked worriedly.

"No, not Hinata" Sakura said calmly, "don't worry"

"She is almost as oblivious as you" Sai said, earning a stern glare from the pink haired woman.

"B-but" Naruto opened and closed his mouth a few times, before finally looking at his friends with eyes filled with betrayal "Why did no one tell me?!"

...

Later in the day, after parting with Sai, Naruto joined Sakura on her walk home, in the hopes that he would get a chance to talk to her more privately.

"Sakura-chan"

"Hm?"

"If someone loves you, how.. how do you turn that love, y'know, their love for you, into a romantic love?" Naruto asked, voice slightly shaky and low.

"Eh? What do you mean 'turn it into'?" Sakura asked.

"Like, how do you make someone go from feeling love for a friend, to feeling romantic love instead" the blond said. "Hinata, she said she loved me, but, how do I make her love me in _this_ way?" he asked, gripping the fabric over his chest, in his hand, as if he was holding onto those feelings he spoke of.

"Wait, wait, hold on," The pink haired woman brought them both to a stop and looked at her friend with wide and shocked eyes, "Naruto, what do you mean? When did she say that?"

The blond looked off to the side for a moment before he spoke, "Back when I was fighting Pain and she came to help me, she told me that she loved me, she was willing to die for me but.."

"But?" Sakura inquired.

"Hinata has always been supporting me and helping me and been such a good friend and- and now, I wan-.. I need.." Naruto sighed, trying to figure out how to explain his feelings, and finally ended with; " _More_ ".

Sakura let out a breath and looked at the blond with sympathy "Naruto.."

"I know I'm probably being greedy, but.. Do you think Hinata's love could ever.. do you think that love could ever become romantic love?" he asked.

"I-" Sakura was about to say something, but stopped herself. It wasn't her place to say how Hinata felt, Sakura thought, besides, after all this time Hinata deserved the chance to hear Naruto ask her and Naruto in turn, deserved to hear the words from Hinata herself.

"I think you should ask Hinata that" she finally said.

"How do I do that?" the other pressed.

The pink haired woman shrugged her shoulders, "Ask her to go somewhere with you, in private, and talk to her. You know, like a date" she said.

"But, how do I ask her on a date?!"

Sakura looked at him with disbelief, "You're kidding right? You were constantly asking me out, back when we were kids"

Naruto huffed and rolled his eyes, "Yeah but that was different-ttebayo" he scoffed.

"How?" the woman asked, brow raised.

"Cause it was you! And I always knew you would say no, so" Naruto scrunched up his face a bit, "so, there was never really any reason to be nervous,"

Sakura tilted her head to the side and smiled gently, "There's no reason to be nervous now either Naruto," she said.

"What if she says 'no' though?" the blond asked, frowning.

"Naruto, you've never let your fears of others' rejection stop you from doing anything before. So don't start doing it now" Sakura said, "And, I'm not saying that she would, but even if Hinata were to say 'no', would you just give up? Wouldn't she be worth fighting for?"

"Of course she's worth fighting for-ttebayo!" Naruto exclaimed without hesitation.

Sakura smiled at the quick reaction, "Then fight for her, donka. If you want to win her heart, then you'll have to fight and show her your feelings, right?" she said.

"Mhm, you're right! I'll definitely do my best to show her and win her heart dattebayo!" Naruto proclaimed confidently.

...

"By the way, Sakura-chan, you've gotten really cheesy lately" the blond said teasingly.

"Shut up, I just want my idiot friend to be happy," Sakura said and continued with a smirk, "You're less annoying when you're happy, though not much"

"Hey!" Naruto cried.

...

Next Up:

The Hero's Quest

* * *

End note: I've removed the chapter "Snow Day" from this story & posted it as a one-shot, as it didn't belong in this story or fit into the story-line - so if you liked that chapter and want to reread, you can find it under my stories~

I've also squished both announcements into the same chapter (I will most likely remove them eventually, but for now I'm keeping them) and I've been working on fixing old mistakes throughout the story, so if you feel like something has changed (like Hinata's dad no longer being called the head of the _branch_ family *so embarrassed*) this is the reason.

Edit: I'm so sorry if you guys are having problems posting reviews, I forgot to think of the fact that I might mess that up, when I started fiddling around with the chapters - so sorry!


	20. The Hero's Quest

Author's note: I've lost count of how many times I've started out with 'I'm sorry to say that there is once again no actual update', but I suppose it doesn't really matter since this is finally a real proper update!

I'm sorry for the wait, life has been busy and I honestly can't believe it's almost been a year since the last update, I've personally been impatiently waiting to finally get back to the story and I'm so excited to have the time for it again!

Thank you for all the faves, follows and reviews - I hope some of you are still out there and I hope you'll enjoy the chapter~

 _/watches tumbleweed fly by_

* * *

...

The Hero's Quest

...

It had been a few days since Naruto had reached his realization, that he was in love with Hinata Hyuuga, and also since he had spoken to Sakura, who had encouraged him to show Hinata his true feelings, and to do whatever it took to win her heart.

To Naruto, it was both exciting and scary, not knowing what was going to happen – did he even have a chance?

Either way, he now understood that he had to at least try, no matter the outcome and, knowing Hinata, he was certain that even if she rejected him, she would still stay by him as his friend, and in time he might be able to settle for that.

As he walked down the street, he felt much lighter and more at ease than he had for years, even with the worries still in his mind, just the fact that he finally understood his own feelings and knew what his heart truly wanted, made it feel like a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Now all he needed to do was find-

He grinned happily and waved as he called out to the very woman he had been thinking of, walking in his direction "Ooy Hinata~"

Hinata looked up and smiled kindly "Ohayo Naruto-kun" she greeted before the smile was replaced by a small frown, "How are you? You left so suddenly the other day"

Naruto grimaced to himself and rubbed the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed – he'd almost forgotten about how he ran away from her and her teammates a few days earlier. "O-oh yeah, sorry I.. I just realised something and I.. had to go.." he chuckled awkwardly and was about to continue with his excuse, when he realised that there was something much more important to say. "Actually, Hinata, I wanted to ask you something-ttebayo, if that's okay" he trailed off, scratching at his cheek.

"Me?" she asked, looking up at him curiously and smiled when he nodded, "Of course, please ask"

"Well, I was just, y'know, wondering if-" he began, stumbling a bit on his words, when he was rudely interrupted by an ever monotonous voice.

"Hinata, there you are, I have been looking for you" the Aburame had appeared almost out of nowhere, Naruto felt, and he couldn't help but growl quietly to himself.

"Shino-kun, please, Naruto-kun was speaking" Hinata chided her teammate gently, "you interrupted him".

"Oh. I apologize, please go on" Shino said, inclining his head to Naruto, and the blond got the feeling the bug-user wasn't sorry at all.

Naruto opened his mouth to speak again, but closed it on second thought and shook his head, "Nah, nevermind, it's not important" he waved it away as though it was nothing.

"A-are you sure Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, frowning slightly.

"Yeah, yeah, it's fine! I gotta go anyways, I'll see ya' later-ttebayo" he grinned and waved, setting off in another direction without looking back.

He couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.

…

The next day he decided to get up early in the morning and go to the Hyuuga compound where he would wait for Hinata to get up. Maybe then he would be able to catch Hinata without her team and talk to her alone.

He had been planning to just wait by the trees opposite of the grounds, but one of the family guards spotted him coming up the road and waved him closer with a smile.

The Hyuuga bowed his head in greeting and his eyes, so similar to Hinata's yet so different Naruto noted, searched the blond with curiosity "Good morning Uzumaki-san, it's unusual to see you in these parts of the village. What brings you this way so early?"

"Aah," Naruto rubbed the back of his neck and grinned, feeling a little embarrassed at the situation when another guard joined them, equally curious about the blond "I was actually hoping to get to talk to Hinata, y'know, when she gets up"

"Hinata-sama? I apologize Uzumaki-san, but Hinata-sama is not here" the guard told him apologetically.

Naruto frowned, looking behind the guard at the compound dumbfounded – had she gone on a mission since he last saw her? "E-eh? Then, where is she?"

"I believe she is spending the night at the Aburame compound," the Hyuuga explained, the other guard nodding affirmatively.

"O-oh" the blond felt his heart sink a bit.

The guard looked at him questioningly, "Would you like me to inform her of your visit upon her return?"

"No.. no, it's fine, thanks" Naruto shook his head and waved.

As he left, all he could think about was the fact that Hinata was spending the night with Shino. _What the hell did that even mean?!_

…

Naruto was not about to give up though, if he truly wanted to show Hinata how he felt, he had to continue taking every chance he could find to get a moment alone with the dark-haired woman.

And a few days later he felt his heart skip a beat as another one of said chances appeared when he spotted the woman out of the corner of his eye, leaving one of the training grounds.

"Hey Hinata" he greeted her happily, feeling a warm rush in his chest when she waved back with a soft smile. "I was just on my way to Ichiraku's, wanna join me?" he asked cheerfully as he came to a halt in front of her.

"Oh uh-" Hinata looked surprised, a soft pink dusting her cheeks "Heck yeah, I'm starving!" Kiba exclaimed, before the woman had a chance to say anything else, "how 'bout you Shino?"

 _Dammit_. Naruto glared at the dog nin who had come out from the training grounds behind Hinata. The glare expanded to the bug-user when the silent man walked out behind Kiba with the words "Ramen does sound tempting at this moment".

"Ah, I guess we'd love to join you Naruto-kun" Hinata smiled up at the blond and he felt his anger melt away instantly.

"Ah uh but-" he started, that wasn't what he'd meant, but that sweet smile left him feeling like a bag of mush and he shrugged his shoulders, giving in, "Nevermind, let's go"

…

At Ichiraku Ramen Naruto had been a moment too slow to grab a seat next to Hinata, and instead ended up sitting next to Shino, with Hinata on the silent man's other side and Kiba ending the line.

He liked everyone on team 8, honestly he did, but sometimes the guys just got on Naruto's nerves.

Well, pretty much always, really. Like now.

The blond watched jealously as Shino shared some of his food with Hinata, holding his chopsticks to her lips, which closed around the food before the woman nodded in agreement to something the bug-user had been saying. Naruto hadn't been paying attention really, he was too caught up in fuming silently, and maybe focusing a bit too much on those pretty lips, but nevermind that.

As he watched Shino share his food again, this time with Kiba, who in turn shared his own food with the silent man, Naruto felt himself deflate a bit.

 _Team 8 really are super close, huh?_

…

Naruto kept missing his chances.

Sometimes he got so nervous (or was it excited? Or a combination of the two?) that he stumbled over his words and ended up talking about something completely different.

Not that Hinata seemed to mind. She was always giving him that sweet smile and looking at him with those big beautiful eyes.

Those eyes had lost him several chances as well, because, _Gods, those eyes_ , he could get lost in their depths and their warmth for days. His mind would wander and his heart would flutter and he'd be in the middle of his third bowl of ramen before he even realised he'd missed his chance again. He hadn't even been anywhere near Ichiraku's when he'd met Hinata earlier.

Sometimes something interrupted them, forcing them apart and pushing Naruto's chance out of the way, and those were the worst.

There'd been times where their friends interrupted, most often Hinata's teammates. Then there were times where Hinata was called away for family business or minor missions. And then, of course, there was Naruto's 'fanclub', who'd crowd around him with delighted squeals of 'Naruto-senpai's and 'Naruto-sama's, and never left until his chance with Hinata was long gone.

He needed to change his strategies and come up with something different, because at this rate, he'd end up old and grey before he'd get to share his heart with Hinata.

…

"Pleeeeaaaaseeee Sakura-chaaaan" the loud and whining voice made Sakura cringe and roll her eyes, as she continued her work, sorting through medical files for her mentor, Tsunade.

"Sakuraaaaaa, help meeee" the clone on her left chimed in, making her lose her place for a moment. She growled slightly as she was forced to start over.

"Saakuraaaaaa-chaa-uhmp" the clone on her right disappeared with a 'poof', leaving the pink-haired woman's fist clenching on air.

"Urrgh, fine!" she looked at Naruto and his remaining clone with dangerous eyes, both looking back at her with apprehension, "Fine! But if I help, you better not chicken out or so help me-"

"Yatta!" the two blonds cheered before she could finish "I won't! I promise!" the two answered happily in unison.

The woman rolled her eyes at them before pointing a finger at the real Naruto, "Lunch tomorrow, be there or say goodbye to your other arm"

"I knew you loved me~"

"Get out of here before I change my mind!"

"Yes M'am!"

…

Next Up:

The Last Chance


	21. The Last Chance - Part I

Author's note: Guess what's on break again - Doctor Who! Urgghhh, I'm gonna miss Peter Capaldi, he's been my favourite Doctor... what? too soon for "break" jokes?

Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews - I'm so happy to see you guys are still enjoying my story even after the long wait and thank you to all the new followers and faves! I really appreciate you all!

I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter, which is coming in 2 parts, since I didn't want to leave you guys hanging too long and I'm not sure I will have time to proof the second half today (I shouldn't even be here right now but should be on my way to help get things ready for my Gran's birthday party)

ahahanyways, I'll be back with Part 2 tomorrow, until then, please enjoy.

* * *

...

The Last Chance - Part I

...

It was a beautifully sunny day and Hinata took pleasure in seeing everything around her in bloom as she walked through the streets of Konoha. Sakura had invited her to lunch, a rather sudden though very welcome invitation, and she was on her way to meet up with the pink-haired woman at the café, when the sound of familiar voices made the blooming world slow down around her until she was rooted to the spot.

…

"Eeeh? Boss finally figured out he's in love?" Udon sniffled loudly, and wiped his runny nose on his sleeve.

Moegi scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, "Tch, he's an adult! He should have been able to figure that out long ago!"

"Hey! It's not Naruto-nii's fault-kore" Konohamaru defended, pointing his finger at the girl, "he can't help that he's, y'know-"

"An idiot?" the ginger-haired girl offered, making the boy glare at her, though halfheartedly - Naruto-nii was kind of slow on this point if he had to be honest.

"D'ya think he's already confessed and stuff?" Udon asked, looking to Konohamaru curiously.

"Well of course! Knowing Naruto-nii, he probably told her right after he found out-kore!" the Sarutobi beamed proudly, "Y'know Naruto-nii doesn't waste time when he knows what he wants-kore!"

A girlish squeal of delight startled the two boys, who turned to their third team member with wide-eyes, not used to the girl acting so.. well girly.

Moegi had her hands on her happily flushed cheeks and was looking into the distance dreamily, "They'll be such a cute couple! They're so perfect for each other don't you think?" she sighed.

…

"Ah Hinata, finally I was beginning to think you stood me up-" Sakura's teasing voice turned serious the moment she saw the other woman's face "What's wrong?!"

"A-ah Sakura-chan, sorry I'm late, n-nothing's wrong" Hinata assured, trying to hide everything with a smile.

"Don't be silly Hinata, what happened?" the pink-haired woman took the other's hands in her own "Tell me?"

The Hyuuga bowed her head, keeping her eyes on their joined hands, before she murmured softly "I… I heard.. about Naruto-kun.."

The medical-nin tilted her head and frowned, "Heard? What did you hear?"

"Naruto-kun's in love" the words came in an even softer murmur than before.

Sakura's eyes widened slowly, thoughts racing through her head, "Hinata, it's not what you-"

"It's okay, Sakura-chan" the pale-eyed woman spoke, still looking down at their hands "I think I always knew I wouldn't be the one to hold Naruto-kun's heart but I.. I guess I hoped I would at least have another chance to confess my feelings to him before it was too late.."

The long dark locks shielded her face, and Sakura couldn't help but lift a gentle hand to push the ebony strands back, catching a glimpse of a sad smile in doing so.

"That's what I get for waiting too long huh?" Hinata whispered.

"Hinata" the green-eyed woman said firmly, grasping the other's free hand in her's again, "don't listen to what anyone says, they're just rumours!"

True rumours, yes, but how they'd come to be spread so openly in public, Sakura didn't know. One thing she did know, was that someone was going to pay when she found out who had been spreading rumours, before Naruto had had a chance to share his feelings with Hinata.

Hinata caught the pink-haired woman's eye and smiled, so softly and tenderly, "I'm so proud of him" she said, and Sakura felt something tighten in her chest at the pure and honest love, that this sweet woman held for her blond idiot of a friend. "He's come such a long way, grown so much. For him to finally be able to have this feeling. I'm so happy for him!"

"No, Hinata, please don't cry" Sakura said, gently tugging her friend closer for a hug.

"I'm not-" the dark-haired woman broke off when she felt the wetness clinging to her eyelashes "oh.."

Hinata allowed herself to rest against the medical nin for a moment before she pulled away, "I-I'm sorry Sakura-chan, I'm not that hungry, can we reschedule?"

"Of course! Do you want me to walk you home?"

"No, thank you, I'm sorry for worrying you Sakura-chan" the shy woman bowed before she turned and walked away.

Sakura frowned thoughtfully to herself as she looked at the empty space Hinata had been occupying moments before, when a flash of orange made her eyes widen. It hadn't been until that moment that she remembered the plans she'd made with Naruto the day before.

 _"_ _I'm going to invite Hinata for lunch, and you're just gonna happen to walk by and spot us, and intrude on our meal like usual-"  
_ _"_ _oyy, I don't intru-"  
_ _"_ _-I'll remember I have an appointment that I forgot to cancel and I'll have to leave and you guys finally have your private moment. Got it?"  
_ _"_ _Mhm, I got it! I'll definitely get it right this time-ttebayo!"_

Well, so much for that plan.

"Naruto," Sakura's hand shot out and grasped the blond's wrist before he could get too far, holding him back, "How much did you hear?"

"Everything.." Naruto looked back at her, eyes bright and clear with penitence, a crooked smile on his lips "I really am dense, huh?"

"Yeah, you are" she agreed with a sigh, giving him a sympathetic look "What are you planning?"

"I'm gonna do what I should have done long ago and speak from my heart" the blond answered honestly, face showing pure determination.

"Go on then" she said, smiling kindly as she released his wrist.

"Thanks Sakura-chan" he smiled back and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The pink-haired woman startled momentarily, then breathed a chuckle at her own lapse of attention.

 _A kage-bushin huh? Finally, you've stopped wasting time donka_ she thought affectionately.

...

Next Up:

The Last Chance - Part II


	22. The Last Chance - Part II

...

The Last Chance - Part II

...

While overhearing Sakura and Hinata's conversation, Naruto had been completely still and lost to the world, stuck somewhere in between feeling so incredibly guilty, overjoyed and troubled. It had taken him a few moments, and a not so gentle nudge from the beast residing inside him, before he had rushed after Hinata. When Sakura had caught him, he had quickly used a replacement jutsu, leaving a clone behind in his place, not wanting to waste any time in finding Hinata.

Somewhere along the way he lost sight of the dark-haired woman after she had turned a corner and, unknowingly to the blond, taken one of the narrower pathways leading out of the shopping district, which had forced him to search her out.

When he finally caught up with her in one of the greener and quieter areas, just outside the central district, he called out to her, nerves dancing under his skin.

"Hinata!"

He was probably the last thing she was expecting right now, he realised, as he observed how her body seemed to tense up for a moment, and he felt a twinge of uncertainty. But when she turned around to face him, he noted how her shoulders seemed to relax again and he smiled when she looked up at him, uncertainty melting away.

"N-Naruto-kun, h-hello" her smile was warm and honest, but her eyes held a well-concealed sadness, which made Naruto's own smile falter for a second.

 _Are you making those sad eyes because of me_ he wondered silently.

"I-is everything alright Naruto-kun?" the woman asked, when the blond stayed oddly quiet with his eyes on her.

Naruto's response came almost instantly "Yeah, you're perfect".

Hinata's eyes widened and her cheeks tinted a deep red, before the blond's brain finally caught up with what his mouth had just said. Naruto's own eyes widened and his face heated to boiling point with embarrassment, "I-I mean e-everything's perfect with you – I mean me – not that you aren't perfect but what I mean is you're fine- _it's_ fine! I mean things are fine-ttebayo" he spluttered.

This was _so_ not going the way he was hoping.

A sweet giggle drew him from a minor internal panicking and back to the woman in front of him. Her cheeks were still flushed but her eyes were sparkling with laughter as she held a hand to cover her lips, clearly trying to hide her giggle. He couldn't help but smile and soon the smile turned to laughter, embarrassment slowly fading away with his nerves as the two laughed together.

When they had finally calmed down, Naruto cleared his throat quietly and looked at the dark-haired woman with a serious expression, "Hinata, there's something I've been wanting to tell you, or I've been trying to tell you, for a while now, but every time something's gone wrong" he scratched the back of his head frowning, "Even today, things weren't supposed to go this way"

The pale-eyed woman looked up at him, brow furrowed slightly, eyes questioning.

"That is.. I was supposed to meet up with you and Sakura-chan earlier, at the café" he explained, hand stilling on the back of his head.

Hinata frowned for a moment, before realisation hit her, and she took a small step back, eyes widening, "Y-you heard?" she asked.

The blond nodded apologetically "I'm sorry Hinata," he said, tone sincere, "but not because I overheard. I'm sorry for not realising what your feelings really meant – all this time, I must have caused you so much pain-"

"N-no, Naruto-kun-" Hinata broke in quickly, eyes worried and insisting, that wasn't his fault and she couldn't allow him to think so, but the blond smiled, almost sadly and continued before she could finish "but what I'm most sorry about Hinata, is that I never realised what my own feelings meant"

"For so long, I never knew there was a difference between the love you hold for a friend, and the love you hold for the one who is most precious to you," he told her, confidence and bravery growing as one as he spoke, "and because of that, I've lost so much time.. But.. I finally get it now"

Naruto lifted his hand ever so gently to Hinata's cheek, and watched as a soft pink colour spread from under it, before he moved his eyes to those beautiful pearlescent ones, which looked back at him with hesitation.

"Hinata. I love you"

The hesitation in her eyes changed to uncertainty at his words, "W-what did you say?"

Naruto smiled warmly, eyes never wavering from hers "I love you, Hinata" he said, "To be honest, I think I always did, even if I didn't realise until now. You've always been supporting me, acknowledging me and protecting me.. even the first time we met. You might not remember, but it was way back before we started at the Ninja Academy. You stood up for me against these big bullies looking for a fight, they must've been 3 times your size and you didn't even know me, but you still did it." he smiled fondly at the memory, "You were the first person to ever do something like that for me, to ever acknowledge me and see me as a person, rather than a monster or an outsider."*

"Y-you still remember that?" she asked, almost in wonder, searching his bright blue eyes for any sign of dishonesty, but found none.

"I never forgot" he answered, reaching out to touch his fingertips to her hair, carefully brushing it behind her ear, smiling when the pale blush on her cheeks darkened again, "For years I fell asleep to the memory of that brave little girl, of _you_ , holding my hand and this feeling of comfort and hope you gave me that day"

The wetness gathering in those pearly eyes, made them seem to sparkle, and Naruto found it difficult to look anywhere else. When she whispered his name so softly, almost longingly, he leaned his forehead against hers, "I really do love you Hinata, so much that it hurts"

"I-I love you too, Naruto-kun" Hinata said, happiness encouraging tears to make their way down her cheeks, as the two looked deep into each others eyes.

Naruto gently wiped her tears away, feeling his own eyes watering slightly from happiness, "Thank you for loving me and for not giving up on me, Hinata" he said, causing the smaller woman's eyes to widen in surprise.

Hinata put her arms around the man, whom she had loved for so long, and hid her face in his chest. The blond in turn wrapped his arms around her tightly and held her close, pressing his face against the top of her head, basking in the feeling of finally having the most precious person to him in his arms.

"Hinata?" he murmured into her hair after some time.

"Hm?" the reply came from somewhere around his chest.

He felt his cheeks heating up again and burrowed his face deeper into her hair before he asked his question.

"Can.. can I kiss you?"

The dark-haired woman pulled back slightly to look up at him, cheeks pink and eyes sparkling as she smiled, nodding her head. Naruto smiled back, nervous excitement filling him to the point where he was certain butterflies would soon start escaping his mouth. But that was okay, as long as they could wait just a little longer, he thought, as he tilted his head down, while Hinata tilted hers up, both moving closer together until finally, their mouths met in a gentle press of lips and the butterflies were released in a wave of warmth and electricity.

...

Next Up:

The First Date

* * *

*I've received a couple messages about this differing from canon and realised it might be good to mention that Naruto is referring to the scene from the chapter _Little Monsters - Part II_ and not the scene from _The Last_. Sorry for any confusion.

* * *

Author's note: AAAAAaaaaAaaaaAAaaaaaaaaAAaaaaahhhhhhh-I've been waiting almost 2 years to write this-aaAAAaaaaHHhhh  
that is all kthnxbai


	23. The First Date - Part I

...

The First Date - Part I

...

"Hanabi, leave it, please"

The moment Hinata had stepped out of the house, the brown-haired girl had rushed after her and started pulling and tugging at her older sister's dress with intent.

"Nee-chan, please, you're making the dress sad by wearing it like that!" Hanabi insisted, "Just let me put this on you,"  
Hinata glanced sceptically at the orange ribbon in the girl's hands, before she shook her head, "I already let you do my hair Hanabi, and my dress is fine just like this" she said.

"Tying back your hair is not letting me do your hair" Hanabi pouted and then put her hands on her hips, changing tactics, "Besides, don't you want Naruto-san to think you're pretty?"

It was a dirty trick to pull and she knew it, but it worked. The older of the two turned silent for a moment, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, before she sighed in defeat, "Fine".

Hanabi grinned victoriously and tied the ribbon around her sister's waist, pulling in the fabric until the dress followed the woman's curves instead of hiding them.

"Do these colours even fit together?" Hinata asked uncertainly, as the younger girl fussed over her own handiwork.

"Of course, orange and purple are perfect together," Hanabi replied, finally satisfied with her work, and looked up at her sister, "When the right shades come together, they will complement each other and bring the best out in both of them"

Hinata's eyes softened when she realised Hanabi wasn't just talking about the colours and she smiled, placing a gentle hand to her sister's cheek and pressed her lips to her forehead, "Thank you, Hanabi".

The younger smiled and hooked their arms together, leading her sister to the gates, "I still think you should have let me braid your hair. But for now, this will have to do," she said teasingly.

...

"Hinata~" Naruto called out cheerfully the moment he saw her and instantly moved forward to gather her in his arms and twirl her around, causing her cheeks to flush while a giggle bubbled in her chest.

The blond grinned and let her feet touch the ground again, leaning his forehead against hers, a gesture which made her heart flutter.

"Hi Naruto-kun" Hinata said sweetly and Naruto's grin softened as they got lost in each other's eyes, the world around them forgotten for the moment.

Hinata was used to physical affection from her teammates. It had always been the way Kiba had communicated best, something which had rubbed off on Shino and Hinata early on, leading them to grow close enough to read each other with just a simple touch – a bond which was useful in combat and a comfort in life.

She had known that much like her teammate, Naruto also communicated best through actions, through touch, though it was much more than a form of communication for him. Looking into those blue eyes, so close to her, she understood that a touch _meant_ much more than just communication for him, and this knowledge caused her heart to beat a little faster.

"Oiii, Nee-chan, Naruto-san! You're not planning on having the date right here are you? I'm not sure father would like that" Hanabi's teasing voice called out to them several moments later, breaking through their moment and making them part.

"Maybe another time" Naruto called back to the younger girl, grinning when she made a face at him. He held out his hand to Hinata, "We've already got other plans for today, nah Hinata?"

"Hai" Hinata smiled and took his hand, warm and rough against her soft skin, sending a wave of nervous excitement through both of them.

...

The walk to their destination, Konoha's Botanical gardens, was for the most part spent in comfortable silence, where both snuck occasional glances at each other, faces breaking into smiles whenever they caught the other doing the same.

"Y'know, we're matching today!" Naruto said cheerfully after some time, touching his shirt with his free hand while looking at her.

"Ah, you're right" Hinata smiled looking from his shirt to the ribbon Hanabi had tied around her waist, the two almost the exact same colour "We do".

The blond grinned happily, "You look really pretty by the way" he said and enjoyed how those pale cheeks flushed at his words.

"T-thank you," Hinata replied, a sweet smile on her lips, "Naruto-kun looks good as well"

"Ehehe" the blond felt his own cheeks warm a bit and looked away from the woman to keep himself from doing anything embarrassing, "Thank you-ttebayo"

...

"Where should we go first?" Hinata asked glancing around once they had entered the botanical gardens. They were walking on the main promenade, which branched out into several pathways, leading to the many different areas which the gardens consisted of, some of which expanded past the village walls.

"Ah, let's go this way" Naruto said, taking them down a path leading to an area named Gama-gardens.

Gama-gardens turned out to be a garden with a variety of smaller and larger water basins everywhere you looked, full of water-thriving plants and flowers, and home of frogs and toads of all kinds.

Several of the smaller frogs moved across the path and the couple had to be careful not to step on any of the tiny creatures as they walked around.

"I wonder if any of these are Boss-Gama's babies" Naruto said thoughtfully, watching a fat toad climb out of one of the water basins. It kind of reminded him of Gamatatsu.

"You think so?" Hinata asked, tilting her head at the small frogs jumping around their feet, "They're really cute either way"

"Hehe yeah, I guess they are" the blond said and added "Kinda funny too" as an afterthought when the fat toad fell right back into the water it had been climbing out of.

...

One of the next areas they came to was filled with a wide variety of chrysanthemums, in all the different types, colours and sizes one could imagine.

"Ooh! Look at this one – it's huge-ttebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, spotting a large pink flower and leaning closer to inspect it, looking back at Hinata when he heard her giggle, "Eh? What?"

"It's as big as Naruto-kun's head" the dark-haired woman said through her giggles, eyes sparkling.

"Really?" the blond grinned and tugged the woman closer by the hand, looking from the flower to her face before breaking into a laugh, "You're right! It's even bigger than your head Hinata! - ah, this one too!"

...

As they moved through the different areas of the gardens, they took their time to enjoy the different sights and smells, and soon started sharing their own gardening experiences with each other and memories of where they recognised certain flowers from, like the blooming cacti which Naruto remembered from a visit to Suna, or the red tree peony which Hinata had come across on a mission to the Land of Waves.

As they talked and shared, teased and laughed, every step and every word began coming more naturally than the one before, until their shared nervous excitement had ebbed away and been replaced with pure content.

...

They spent the afternoon in the Butterfly gardens and the Sakura gardens, and they took a rest at the Tea House in the Herbal gardens, where they sat close, leaning into each other, as they drank calming tea made from freshly picked leaves and watched the clouds pass by overhead.

...

"These smell lovely"

They had reached an area labelled "Edible-blooms" and the pearly-eyed woman was leaning forward, inhaling the scent of the blooming lavenders in front of her.

"Mm," Naruto agreed sniffing at the air, looking thoughtful for a moment, "They kinda smell like Hinata"

"E-eh?" Hinata blushed, "Y-you think so?"

The orange-clad man leaned closer to her and pushed his nose to her cheek, inhaling her scent before he nodded against her, "Mn, definitely"

The pale woman was flushed a deep red by the time he pulled back, "Ehehe, sorry, you just smell really nice" he said with a smile, which widened when the woman pressed her face against his chest, hiding her embarrassment.

"Naruto-kun smells like ramen" she mumbled into his shirt after some time, though in truth the smell of ramen was very faint, the barest hint of spices and noodles just peeking through the scent of soap, sunshine and everything _Naruto_.

Pressed so close, Hinata felt the chuckle vibrating in his chest before it passed the blond's lips, and she lifted her head just enough to look up at him, to witness the amusement in his eyes and bask in the warmth of his happiness.

"Speaking of ramen," Naruto said, brushing a strand of ebony hair from ivory cheeks, "Wanna go get something to eat?"

...


	24. The First Date - Part II

Soo, after that little mishap this morning I have finally gotten Part I of the chapter back together - some things might not be exactly the same as before, since it was based on a slightly older version of the chapter and my memory is not good enough for me to remember word for word, plus I moved some things around, adding some things from the second part to make the flow more natural. So for anyone who already read Part I, you may want to reread it before this one, and for everyone, again, sorry for the inconvenience.

I hope you will all enjoy the chapter & thank you for all of your support.

* * *

...

The First Date - Part II

...

It was early in the evening by the time the couple left the botanical gardens, walking hand in hand, the same way as they had entered, though their steps and smiles were lighter, softer, the weight of nerves left behind somewhere amongst the flowers and trees in the gardens.

They made their way back towards the central districts of Konoha to find a place to have dinner and nerves slowly started prickling at the back of Naruto's head again, growing just a bit for every step they got closer to the busy streets of the food district.

It wasn't that he was nervous of _having_ dinner, or that he was unsure of what he liked or even what Hinata liked. No, the cause for his nerves was the fact that he had no idea where or how he could find a place which was special and fancy enough to be considered appropriate for his and Hinata's first date, since both of his original ideas had been labelled "no-go" by Sakura and Ino the night before.

The girls had been interrogating him on what he had planned for the date, and the moment "Ichiraku Ramen" had left his mouth, both girls had been over him with disapproving eyes and chiding voices.

" _Jeez! You go there every day! How's that special? At least put some effort into it" Sakura had groaned at him, and Ino picked up "Take her somewhere fancy and romantic, somewhere that'll make her feel how special this day is~ Somewhere with candlelight and flowers"_

 _Naruto had scrunched up his face in thought, thinking of a place which had both plants and candles and remembered that Yakiniku Q had both of these things. He had just been about_ _to ask if that place would be better than Ichiraku, when Ino turned a sharp pair of eyes on him "And don't you dare take her to the BBQ place either! Choji'll probably be there and that will not be special at all!"._

He didn't really frequent, or know, any good places to eat, other than those two, which had led him to try and scout out some places before he met up with Hinata earlier, but all the fancy looking places he had found were either extremely pricey or had menus seemingly written in foreign languages and codes.

At least that was how it appeared to Naruto, who was used to menus that stated things clearly. Like at Ichiraku's, where a serving of miso ramen with chāshū and naruto was exactly what it sounded like; a bowl of miso flavoured ramen with delicious chāshū and perfect swirls of naruto on top.

He wasn't so sure, that the same could be said, about some of the fancy places he had been looking at earlier.

He hoped not at least, shuddering internally as he remembered the place which had "Shirako" (white children) as their speciality.

Not having anywhere particular in mind, Naruto had pulled himself and Hinata to a stop outside different restaurants a couple of times, looking over the menus in hopes that something might have changed since morning.

It hadn't.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked gently the third time he did this, tilting her head at the look of concentration on the man's face.

Naruto pulled his eyes away from the menu in front of him to look at her, "Aah, Hinata, wanna eat here?" he asked, trying not to let it show that he had absolutely no idea of what half of the names on the menu even meant.

The pearly eyes filled with confusion, "Here? We're not going to Ichiraku?"

"Well, I was thinking since it's our first date, we should go somewhere.. special" he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"But Ichiraku Ramen _is_ special" the woman said with a smile.

"It is?" Naruto asked, unsure.

Hinata nodded, eyes warm and honest, "Because Ichiraku's is Naruto-kun's favourite, that makes it special" she said, "At least, it does to me"

Naruto felt himself melt from the inside at the pale woman's words and actions, "Yeah but-"

"Please?" she asked, tilting her head at him and he smiled, giving in "Mah, you're being too nice Hinata"

"Does that mean I win?" Hinata asked teasingly and Naruto laughed.

...

"Yo, Ojii-san" Naruto greeted cheerfully as he and Hinata entered Ichiraku Ramen a short while later.

"Naruto welcome, oh and Hinata-san too" Teuchi said, voice warm and welcoming, and upon noticing their joined hands, he added "Ah! You two wouldn't happen to be on a date now, would you?"

Naruto grinned happily, while the woman at his side smiled with rosy cheeks, "Uhn, we're on our first date-ttebayo!"

"And you chose our ramen stand, I'm honoured!" the man said, truly touched, and motioned to the chairs at the bar, "Please have a seat and I'll make you two the best meal you've ever had!"

"Dad!" Ayame appeared besides her father, elbowing him in the side. "Naruto, not here!" she called quickly, before the couple had a chance to sit down. "This way you two" she said leading them inside the newly renovated dining area.

"Eh? I thought you only opened in here on weekends" Naruto said curiously.

"Yes, well. Weekends and special occasions" Ayame replied, noticing how the blond looked surprised for only a moment before a wide smile took over, "The place is yours, so have a seat where ever you guys want, ok?".

The couple quickly picked a table and Naruto pulled out a chair, calling Hinata's name, and helped her sit down, before he seated himself across from her, looking both proud and a tiny bit embarrassed when the Hyuuga gave him a sweet smile and called him a gentleman.

...

Hours later, when they had finished their meals, their tea, their dangos and had run out of reasons to stay, they finally prepared to leave and Naruto got out Gama-chan.

"Thank you for the meal!" he said cheerfully to Teuchi and Ayame.

"Everything was delicious as always" Hinata added, smiling warmly, "Thank you for everything"

"How much do I owe you old man?" the blond asked, opening Gama-chan's clasp and looking inquiringly at the older man.

"Oh, it's already been taken care of Naruto" Teuchi said, sharing a look with his daughter.

"What? What do you mean?" Naruto frowned, looking to Hinata who looked equally confused.

"Your meal has been paid for already" the old man explained, smiling at their confusion.

"By whom?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Ah, someone who's very sorry for what they've been doing and wishes to make up for it" Ayame told the other woman, the hint of a smirk on her lips.

The Hyuuga giggled, suddenly understanding, "I see, thank you".

"Eh? Am I missing something?" the blond asked.

"It's nothing" Hinata giggled.

Naruto huffed a chuckle, "What's going on?"

"It's nothing" she smiled, "I'll tell you later"

...

"N-Naruto-kun, please wait a moment"

They were almost at the Hyuuga compound when Hinata paused her step, their joined hands causing Naruto to halt as well.

"What is it?" he asked, looking towards her and finding his eyes locked with her's in an instant.

The smaller woman stepped closer to him, rising on the tips of her toes, reaching her hands up to gently cup his whiskered cheeks. The touch was warm and light, and his eyes fell closed for a moment, before he felt himself being drawn down until their breaths mingled.

So close, he could almost feel her eyelashes against his skin.

So close, he would barely have to duck for their lips to touch.

But he waited.

He was rewarded a heartbeat later, when Hinata rose the last few millimetres and closed the gap between them.

The kiss was warm and sweet, much like their first kiss, yet so much more.

Naruto wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close, and bent down further, letting Hinata rest on her feet as their lips moved against each other.

"I love you, Naruto-kun" she whispered, letting him feel every word as they were spoken against his lips, "Thank you for sharing this day with me".

He replied by closing the distance between them again.

...

Next Up:

Bonus Mini-Chapter *title censored for spoilers*


	25. Bonus: Team 8's Spy Mission

Author's note: Sorry for the wait on this one - no fancy excuses, I was just lazy.  
Also this was supposed to be a silly mini chapter, but somehow ended up twice as long as it was supposed to be, so, I guess I wasn't _that_ lazy. It's still silly though.

And as always; thank you so much for all your faves, follows and reviews - it makes me happy to know that other's enjoy this story as much as I do~

* * *

...

Bonus Chapter: Team 8's Spy Mission

...

"Why are you hiding man?" Kiba asked, glancing down from the branch he was lounging on.

The silent nin, who was crouched in the shade of the same great tree, tipped his head back to look up at the man hanging above him, "Why? Because-"

"It's not like Naruto ever notices you anyways" the dog-nin interrupted, playful glint in his eye, like that of a bored dog looking to start trouble. Not surprising really, seeing as they had been waiting for 20 minutes by now, and Kiba's limit for sitting still was fast approaching.

"Hinata however, always notices me" Shino replied coolly, adjusting his glasses. They still had a mission to do and the bug-nin was not about to lose focus for the sake of the dog-nin's games.

"Ya' think Hinata will notice when she'll be busy making dreamy eyes at Naruto? No way dude" Kiba continued to goad, a smirk on his face.

The Aburame turned his gaze from his teammate to the Hyuuga compound's front gates again, still not taking the bait.

"There is also the fact that the pungent smell of wet dog could cause anyone to look this way and thereby notice me if I did not hide properly" the silent man stated moments later, ever calm voice turning the tables on Kiba.

"Oy oy! You saying I stink Shino?! Because I-" the Inuzuka paused his outburst and sniffed at the air for a moment. Frowning, he pulled out the neckline of his shirt and sniffed again, making a face as he did so "Alright, ya' got a point there".

...

"Uurgh, what is this? Some kind of cheesy romance novel?" the dog-nin groaned, taking in the scene in front of them. "This' got to be some kinda Disney bull- no one greets each other like that!" he continued as Naruto finally stopped twirling their female teammate around and set her back on the ground.

"Your proficiency in selective memory continues to astound me" Shino commented monotonously.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kiba asked, looking down at the man with a raised brow.

"I seem to remember you greeting Hinata in much the same way upon our return from our last mission without her" the silent man said, "Not to mention the way you greet me whenever I bring your favourite jerky"

The Inuzuka shook his head, "That's completely different dude"

"How so?" Shino asked, brows raised in curiosity.

"'Cause I ain't Naruto" the dog-nin said, rolling his eyes, as if it was the most obvious thing.

"So, Naruto is what makes this a scene resembling something from a fairy tale?"

"Exactly" Kiba said, "Wait, no, that's not what I meant!"

...

"Shino-nii-san, Kiba-nii-san, you guys wouldn't happen to be spying on Nee-chan would you?"

"Of course not" Shino said, glancing sideways at the young Hyuuga, who was following him and Kiba down the road, in the same direction which Hinata and Naruto had gone.

"We're spying on Naruto" Kiba clarified, making the Aburame look at him strictly, "We've got to make sure the idiot keeps his grabby hands to himself, yeah?"

Hanabi gave him an incredulous look, "You really think Naruto-san would do something inappropriate to Nee-chan on their first date?"

"Listen Hanabi-chan, all men are the same – it might be the first date but even so, they all got just one thing on their minds and th-"

"Kiba, that is enough" Shino interrupted warningly, knowing full well where the dog-nin was going with this, and more importantly, how crudely he would present it.

The girl rolled her eyes at them and stepped in front of Kiba, walking backwards in time with his steps, hands holding her sides, "You guys are men too Kiba-nii! Are you saying you guys are like that too?"

"Obviously we're different," the Inuzuka said, grinning, "Cause we're awesome, yeah?"

Hanabi didn't look convinced and stopped walking, forcing the men to follow her lead to avoid walking in to her.

She squinted up at each of them and raised a pointed finger, "If you do anything to Naruto-san and ruin their date, I'm telling Nee-chan on you!"

Shino's lips turned up in a small smile, "We would never do anything to ruin Hinata's first date, you know that Hanabi-chan. Why? Because we are family and we want the best for her" he said, placing a hand on the young girl's shoulder.

"And don't 'cha worry Hanabi-chan, when it's time for your first date, we'll do the same" the Inuzuka grinned wolfishly, "we'll make sure to do proper background checks on the person as well, y'know, make sure they're good enough for ya and everything, and then of course give 'em a good warning about what's in store if they ever hurt you"

"You wouldn't!" Hanabi squeaked, eyes wider than ever at the mere thought.

"Oh, we would imōto" Kiba said, ruffling the horrified girl's hair, "That's what big brothers are for after all!"

…

"Aachunh! Acho-on! Achuu-uuurggh"

Shino raised a brow under his glasses as he watched Kiba miserably wipe his itchy nose after the latest of many sneezing-fits.

"Why'd they have to come here?" the dog-nin whined quietly, glaring at the flowers around him.

"Why? Because both Hinata and Naruto have a great fondness for nature and flo-" the Aburame cut himself off at the sight of his miserable-looking friend, "Your question was hypothetical."

"You don't say" Kiba commented drily, before another sneeze attack came over him.

"You will give our position away if you continue this" Shino said, holding out a clean tissue for the other man to take.

"I can't help it!" the Inuzuka hissed, yanking the offered tissues out of Shino's hand and stuffing it up his nose as protection against the heavy floral perfume which attacked him from every side, "Forget it! I'm going back to the Badger's Cave!"

"I believe you mean the Mole's Hills"

"Whatever," Kiba grumbled, "Just send your bugs if you need me"

"Hn"

...

Some time after separating with Kiba, Shino had followed the young couple to a place dubbed the Butterfly gardens. Here he had found himself the perfect hiding place amongst the flowering butterfly bushes, where he would have been well hidden from sight, even without his natural ability to blend in.

He watched carefully as the couple investigated a cluster of constructions made from different materials, which had been labelled 'Insect Hotels'. There really wasn't much 'hotel' about these structures, but they were a great asset to the biodiversity of the area, and Shino could look past the name for that fact.

The bug-nin instantly froze in his place, senses on high alert, at the sudden sound of his own name being spoken nearby.

"Shino-kun would enjoy this" Hinata said softly.

Anyone who knew Hinata, would hear the words as the kind consideration it was, a thoughtful comment indicating their bond was not one to be forgotten, but rather one to be shared in the presences of Naruto.

Anyone who knew Hinata as well as the silent man himself did, would know they were in trouble.

The way she had shortened the 'i' in his name, how she had put just the slightest of emphasis on 'this' and the way she had tilted her head as she spoke. This had not simply been Hinata sharing their bond with Naruto, no, this had also been a perfectly concealed reprimand, which would only be caught by the one it was aimed at.

The Aburame continued to stay completely still, barely moving for even the smallest of breaths, though he already knew that too late was a moment which had passed long ago.

Long ago, when the pale and perceptive gaze had first swept over the butterfly bushes and seen straight through the smallest of gaps between the mass of leaves.

A part of him was happy at the confirmation, that his teammate would never overlook him, that he would never be lost to his surroundings in her company. A different part of him felt almost disappointed that Kiba had not been right, just this one time.

And then there was the part of him which felt equal parts guilty and repentant, as he felt Hinata's warm, but piercing eyes, finally move away from his hidden form.

...

"Thank you for your hard work"

Kiba awoke to the sound of his teammate speaking quietly, seemingly to himself, and opened an eye, glancing to the side to watch the silent man.

"I see, so that is it? I will make sure to look for those before we leave" the Aburame said.

The dog-nin frowned and opened both of his eyes, turning to lie on his side as he continued to look at his friend, "What are you on about?"

"Ah, Kiba, we will need to go to the shop nearby" Shino said, looking towards the other.

"Is that were Hinata and Naruto are now? Why didn't you wake me up sooner?" Kiba asked, getting on his feet quickly.

"Hm? Ah, no, my friend here was just telling me that the chrysanthemum seeds currently for sale at the shop are from a particularly delicious harvest" the bug-nin replied, holding his open palm out for Kiba to see.

The dog-nin raised a brow and leaned in to look at the bee sitting calmly on the man's palm, "Seriously?"

The bee buzzed happily in reply.

...

Kiba stretched his neck, trying to get a better look at the two people inside the closed-off part of Ichiraku Ramen, when the owner's daughter came through the door, pen and notepad in hand as she finished scribbling orders down.

The dog-nin waited for the moment she looked up and caught her eye with a smile, turning on every bit of charm he had, "Hey Ayame-san, you're looking lovely as ever~ D'ya think we could get one of those free tables in there?"

Ayame squinted at him suspiciously, "It's closed for customers today"

"Wha- but you got 2 customers in there right now don't cha?!" the Inuzuka said accusingly, forgetting his charming ways for the moment.

"It's a private party, now shoo" the woman said, poking his chest with the back end of her pen, "If you really want to get a table inside you can come back on Saturday, kid"

"You can't just- come on lady! Why'd you le-"

"I will have a serving of your shōyu ramen with menma and nori, please" Shino's monotonous voice had Kiba whipping his head to the side with a look of disbelief.

"What the hell are you doing?" he barked at the silent man.

"Ordering dinner" the man replied calmly, "would you care to join me?"

"We're still on a mission dude!"

"Hinata knows we have been following them for most of the day, if not from the very start, and we have found no valid reason not to trust Naruto with her" the Aburame stated, "I believe it is due time for us to give them some space"

"Space my ass" Kiba grumbled but sat down none-the-less, accepting the bowl of ramen which Shino had ordered for him.

"If you would also add the expenses of Naruto's and Hinata's meal to our bill, that would be much appreciated, Teuchi-san" Shino spoke to the shop owner, who agreed with a smile.

"WHAT?!" the dog-nin spat, sending bits of half chewed meat and noodles flying everywhere, some of it landing on Shino's displeased face.

"They will be more likely to forgive us sooner, Hinata in particular, if we make sure to give our apology in advance to seeing either of them" the silent-nin said, using a napkin to wipe his wet cheek.

"Dammit" the Inuzuka growled, stabbing his chopsticks into his ramen and stuffing his face angrily, "Fine! But you damn better buy me jerky on the way home in return Shino"


	26. The Youthful Heart

Author's note: Sorry about the delay everyone, not that I have an actual posting schedule, but it has been longer than I intended, mainly because I spent a few weeks feeling extremely demotivated waiting for and worrying over the results of my exams and the possibility of failing my first semester, then I finally got the results and it turned out I'd passed everything with top grades, which made me super excited for all of 24 hours and then I promptly got sick and slept through the next 3 days. Woo...

Anyways, I can't tell you all how much I appreciate all of you for following and for sending me such nice reviews and messages and for all the love! It really brightens my day to have such amazing fans! Thank you all for sticking with me!

* * *

...

The Youthful Heart

...

The most youthful of shinobis, with the bushiest brows and the tightest spandex, ran on his hands around the village of Konoha, in search of a certain pale-eyed individual.  
By now, most villagers had become used to the sight and sound of green clad men with bowl cuts running around the village in the strangest of ways, chanting encouragements about youth and power. This, however, didn't stop more than a handful of people from startling and turning to stare, when the young shinobi made a sudden and loud exclamation of "AH! HINATA-SAN!"

After many years of conversations with the older man in this exact position and at this volume, the pale-eyed woman didn't so much as flinch or raise a brow at the man in front of her, like so many around her had done, instead she simply smiled and greeted him warmly, "Hello Lee-san".

"Hinata-san! I have realised something!" Lee told her, quickly jumping back onto his feet and looking at her seriously.

"O-oh? What did you realise?" Hinata asked curiously, tilting her head at him.

"You know Team Gai has been one member short for a while yes? For some reason, every candidate has been removed after barely a week - hardly youthful at all! - and we are left where we started-"

Hinata cringed inwardly, knowing exactly what had happened to make those candidates practically run away as soon as they heard they were assigned to Team Gai - Maito Gai's and Rock Lee's reputations left most people as scared as they left them awed - but she couldn't bring herself to tell the poor man in front of her, and so she merely nodded sympathetically.

"BUT!"

This time Hinata did startle slightly at the outburst, but Lee paid it no mind.

"I have realised that to make our team truly spurting with youth again, we need Neji to re-join our team!"

The woman frowned worriedly, about to say something when the thick-browed man suddenly took a deep breath and leaned in so close she had trouble focusing, "Hinata-san! I have realised that you and Neji are very similar in many ways!"

"W-well I suppose that is true" the woman agreed, smiling gently.

Lee nodded enthusiastically, "And that is why you must take Neji's place on Team Gai!"

"Lee-san, you know I already have a team" she said apologetically, "I can't join Team Gai"

"But you are the perfect candidate! With you, it would be just as if Neji was still with us I'm sure!" the man exclaimed, full of excited energy "Tenten and I already know you and the way you fight, we have trained many years with Neji and are therefore perfectly capable of fighting-formations which fits the Hyuuga's fighting techniques! And most importantly – you look very similar to Neji!"

Lee paused, taking in the mildly stunned woman in front of him and tilted his head thoughtfully. "Well, you look very similar in almost every area except of course this one" he said, waving his hands in front of Hinata's ample chest, "In this competition, Neji would surely suffer the greatest defeat of his life!"*

"L-Lee-san!" the pale woman's eyes were wide in shock, cheeks bright with colour and her arms automatically wrapped around herself in an attempt to hide her chest.

"GEEJIIMAAAYYYUU!"

The sudden and loud yell caused both shinobis to turn in time to see a blur of orange running towards them, before it set off from the ground and flew through the air.

"SHE'S GOT A BOYFRIIIIEEEND!" Naruto yelled before his foot made perfect contact with Lee's jaw, sending him flying backwards, shouting something about 'the power of youthful love' as he went.

...

Standing in front of Hinata, whose cheeks were still flushed and eyes turned downward away from his own, Naruto suddenly felt slightly embarrassed at his rushed reaction, "Ahhahehe, uhm... a-are you alright, Hinata?"

The dark-haired woman nodded, and after a moment she glanced up at him, "N-Naruto-kun, y-you said boyfriend"

"Yeah, well since Kiba and Shino are always saying that, I thought I should do it too-ttebayo" the blond explained, rubbing at the back of his neck, grinning nervously.

"O-oh, of course" the Hyuuga nodded, looking down again. She couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed, but at the same time, it was rather nice to know that Naruto felt a sense of the same protectiveness towards her as her teammates did, even if it wasn't always necessary.

"And well, you know, I thought it would be okay for me to say it too, because I _am_ your boyfriend right?" Naruto continued.

Hinata's eyes flew back to Naruto, flush reappearing on her cheeks at those words, but before she had a chance to react more than that, the Uzumaki had started to ramble nervously, a mass of words flowing from his lips in quick waves.

"I mean, I guess we never really actually talked about it and I just assumed that you were my girlfriend, which I probably shouldn't have, I mean, I did spend years with Ero-Sennin, so I really should have learned something right? Hahhaa.."

"Naruto-kun?"

"I didn't even ask if you wanted to be my girlfriend or if I could be your boyfriend-ttebayo! Aah my mum is gonna haunt me for this!"

"Naruto-kun!"

"I should've probably asked-no I should definitely have asked-why didn't I ask-ttebayo?"

"Naruto!"

"Eh?" the sound of Hinata's voice saying his name like that, without any form of honorifics, which was so unlike her, left his mind blank and his cheeks warming. He looked down at the gentle woman in front of him, eyes full of wonder.

"You were rambling," Hinata said softly, smiling as she reached a hand up to brush against his warm cheek.

"Heh, sorry" Naruto sighed happily, lifting his own hand to cover hers and keep it in place.

The ebony-haired woman worried her bottom lip for a moment, looking thoughtful and just a bit nervous, before she took a calming breath and looked at the blond confidently, "N-Naruto-kun?"

"Mh?" the man hummed distractedly, eyes locked on her lips.

"W-will you be my boyfriend?" she asked, bottom lip catching between her teeth again when wide blue eyes locked on hers.

Naruto gaped for all of two seconds, completely taken aback by the sudden and sweet question, before his face broke into a wide grin. "Of course-ttebayo!" he exclaimed, and then as an afterthought, he gave her a playful pout and said "I thought I was supposed to be the one asking"

"W-well, you can still ask me.. if you want" Hinata offered sweetly with a smile.

The blond's grin softened, warmth bubbling inside of him, "Hinata, will you be my girlfriend?"

"I'd love to" Hinata replied, pearlescent eyes sparkling and cheeks flushing happily.

...

"Nah, Hinata?" the blond asked, glancing to the side at woman walking next to him.

"Hm?" the dark-haired woman hummed, looking up at him curiously.

"Can you say my name again? Y'know, like you did before?" he asked, whiskered cheeks tinting red.

"Y-you mean 'Naruto-kun' ?" she asked, slightly confused at his request.

Naruto brought them to a halt and shook his head, looking down at her seriously, "Like you did earlier. Without the honorifics-ttebayo"

"E-eh?! I-I- b-but- that is-" Hinata's face flushed so quickly and strongly that she was sure it might burst into flames any second.

"Please?" he asked, giving her his best puppy-eyes and held her hand to his chest.

The woman made a quiet sound, finding it hard to refuse, and scrunched up her face, collecting every ounce of courage she could find, "N-Naruto-k-.." she took a deep breath, "N-Naruto"

"A-again?" Naruto's voice asked quietly, hopefully.

"Again?!" Hinata asked horrified, but then she caught sight of the blond's face.

His cheeks were flushed, lips caught in a crooked smile and his sparkling blue eyes full of such warmth and wonder - the same face he made when she told him she loved him. She would have never imagined that her saying his name, without the use of honorifics, could bring out such a reaction from him, but now that she was seeing it, she knew she couldn't deny him the request.

Sighing in defeat, Hinata pushed back the nerves and the embarrassment, and held his eyes with her own, "Naruto".

"One more time?" he asked eagerly, eyes never leaving hers.

"Naruto" she repeated and before he had the chance to ask again, she leaned into his chest and hid her face in his shirt, murmuring "N-no more, or I think I might pass out from embarrassment".

Naruto grinned and wrapped his arms tightly around her, "Thank you, Hinata-chan" he said softly. He felt Hinata clench at his shirt, face burrowing deeper, as a soft whine of "Naruto-kun so mean" escaped her and he couldn't help but laugh happily.

...

Next Up:

Learning To Share

* * *

*This "competition" is directly inspired by Rock Lee no Seishun Full Power Ninden and the episode "Tenten vs. Temari" where Lee creates a "boob-size" competition, which he challenges Gaara in. And wins.


End file.
